Red
by The-Windflower-Fairy
Summary: Sherry Birkin has gone into hiding. Jake Muller is determined to find her before the Family do. JakexSherry, with some ChrisxJill and LeonxAda. Plus a bit of LeonxClaire too.
1. Chapter One

**So I've played through Jake and Sherry's campaign five times now, because it's definitely my favourite of them all. Who doesn't want them to get together, really? They're an awesome team. So much so I have been inspired to write this.**

**Just a quick warning - there will be spoilers.**

**I don't own Resident Evil 6, or any of the characters. Though I wouldn't mind a Jake Muller for Christmas.**

* * *

**Red**

Sherry Birkin had gone missing two months ago.

Jake Muller had been searching for her ever since. He was unable to track her phone, and neither Leon nor Claire had heard from her weeks before the lead up to her disappearance.

Thankfully, before they had parted ways after finally defeating Ustanak in China, she'd given him a small, blue cube that served as a GPS tracking unit. All he had to do was send an SMS to hers and a little red dot would show him her location. He'd last checked it a month ago; she was in Siberia. Jake didn't know at the time why she had up and left the US so suddenly to go there, only that she must be in trouble.

Now he knew. She was hiding from the Family. Hiding from the very people he'd been captured by. After a month in captivity, the mercenary was getting pretty sick of stark white labs and blood tests. It made him empathise with Sherry so much more.

Jake didn't even wince as the hypodermic needle pierced the skin of his arm. The female scientist filled two syringes with his blood before carefully removing it and holding a cotton ball to his arm for a moment.

"So, any breakthroughs with whatever you're doin'?" he asked nonchalantly, "You guys are close to bleeding me dry here."

"I know," she responded, "We're going to give you a couple of weeks to recover."

He snorted derisively, "Gee, thanks."

The scientist's name was Sarah. She usually attended to him, and to his surprise she wasn't a complete bitch. As a member of the Family, she was the enemy, but at least she was _nice _about it.

"I'm sorry Jake. But your blood is crucial to the project-"

"What project?" he exclaimed, frustrated. He was sick of being strapped to this cold steel table as he was poked and prodded like an animal for the sake of this _project_.

The woman sighed, tucking a piece of honey blonde hair behind her ear, "The other scientists are calling it Red."

Jake raised an eyebrow, prompting her to elaborate.

"R.E.D," she spelled out, "Radioactive Exothermic Disease. It's a new B.O.W. in progress."

"Of course it is." he muttered grimly, "What's it do?"

"I can't tell you that Jake." she said, shaking her head, "But I can tell you we're having problems with it, hence the name. The radioactivity releases heat that burns you up from the inside out. The T-Virus and C-Virus are both slightly radioactive. This is the same, only..."

"What?"

She hesitated, and then, "Did you know that our bodies are naturally radioactive?"

Sarah looked eager to explain, as she always did when it came to science. He shook his head, choosing to humour her. The scientist smiled.

"All humans have traces of radioactive isotopes in our bodies. Red accelerates their activity within the body, which obviously causes significant damage to your cells. The increased radiation causes a terrible, continuous fever to the point of hyperpyrexia. That's what kills T-virus hosts; the virus itself just reanimates dead tissue. And that's why both T-Virus and C-Virus hosts disintegrate when killed, they combust."

"Okay," Jake said, "How is that useful to you?"

"It isn't." she replied, "Any host we've tried with Red so far dies eventually. Plus a few scientists who have been exposed have died of radiation sickness. That's why we're taking samples of the different viruses; to find and create a suitable host – the perfect B.O.W. That's what my Family wants."

"But wouldn't the radiation kill the host?"

"No one is immune to the effects of radiation except Sherry Birkin."

Jake's heart seemed to still momentarily. Sarah gave him a sympathetic look, "I'm honestly not sure of my Family want to make her the host, or if we just want a sample of the G-Virus in her blood. Either way, her regenerative abilities will solve all our problems. She is the key."

"Shit." he breathed. He needed to get the hell out of here and find her before they did.

* * *

"It was hard enough finding and apprehending you, Muller. Save us the trouble of tracking down Miss Birkin and tell us where she is?" The man paced as he spoke, obviously frustrated. They'd been at this for hours.

Again, Jake remained silent. The Family member sighed, before flicking the switch that would cause a potent shock to course through the mercenary's body once again. Jake gritted his teeth until it was over.

"Where is Sherry Birkin?" the man repeated.

"Go to hell." Another electric shock, stronger this time, "_Son of a bitch!_" he bit out.

"Where is Sherry Birkin?!"

"Fuck you!"

The shock increased in intensity, and this time he cried out.

"Where is she?!"

Jake was in too much pain to answer. As abruptly as they started, the shocks stopped. The mercenary breathed deeply for a while, before grinning.

"What is so amusing, Muller?" The man asked disdainfully.

"No matter what you do," he rasped with conviction, "I'm not telling you anything."

* * *

Jake wasn't sure how long he'd been stuck here. The minutes, hours and days blurred together. Following eight escape attempts, he had been moved to a more secure cell, deeper in the facility. The mercenary had seen a vast amount of armed J'avos patrolling at least six floors that he knew of; he wasn't getting out without help. But thinking of Sherry kept him going. When he got out of here, he was going to find her. Was she still in Siberia, or had she moved on? Was she safe, wherever she was hiding? Could she be hurt?

He lay on the small, rigid bed inside his cell as he thought. He knew she couldn't be hurt, physically. In fact, she seemed just fine with putting herself in danger for the sake of others, and coming out completely unscathed. Jake remembered when she had almost thrown herself in the path of a hail of bullets to protect Leon and Helena.

"_God damn you, Simmons!" Helena exclaimed. She obviously hated this man with every fibre of her being, and for good reason._

"_Dispose of them." The Security Advisor ordered, seemingly disinterested._

_The Agents under his command opened fire. Both Leon and Helena managed to dive behind a large, steel storage crate just in time. Sherry, however, did not take cover._

"_No." He heard her say quietly, before she rushed forward. Realising what she was going to do, he ran after her. It didn't matter that she wouldn't truly be injured; there was no sense in her getting hurt at all. Taking hold of her waist, he used the momentum to dive behind the same crate, twisting his body so he would take the brunt of the fall. There was a moment his eyes met hers angrily; he wanted to scold her for being so reckless, he wanted to hold her there until she apologised for her stupidity. But Sherry scrambled up quickly, and Leon voiced his thoughts._

"_You need to be more careful."_

Jake was rudely shaken out of his memories when he heard a distant noise. As he sat up quickly, he could feel tiny vibrations shaking the room. Then silence once more. He frowned and stood up, before pressing his hand to the wall. After a few moments, there it was again, like the smallest earthquake he'd ever experienced.

What was happening?

Then he heard yelling, and cries of pain, followed by what sounded like gunfire, louder this time.

"Jake Muller! Are you down here?"

He knew that voice, "Redfield!" he shouted in reply, pounding on his cell door, "In here!"

There was a commotion going on just outside his room; J'avo being dispatched by well placed bullets.

"Stand back!" Chris called through the door.

The mercenary backed into the farthest corner from the door. After a few seconds, it was blown off its hinges and a team of BSAA operatives were storming in, guns raised, with Chris Redfield taking the lead.

Jake smirked, "Ah, Redfield, I didn't know you cared."

"Don't flatter yourself," Chris responded, lowering his weapon, "I'm here for Jill."

"Who?"

"Captain," a soldier interrupted, "We found her. She's on the second floor on the other side of the building."

"Let's go." Chris ordered, gesturing for Jake to follow.

He didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

Jill Valentine had done nothing but stare at him since they'd escaped. Jake had ignored it for the most part, choosing instead to watch the scenery go by from the window of the helicopter. Eventually though, he turned to her, "Something bothering you?"

Jill blinked rapidly, as if just realizing what she was doing, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare, it's just..."

She fell silent for a moment. Chris threw Jill a concerned look.

"...you look so much like him." The woman finished quietly.

The mercenary knew exactly who she was referring to. "You knew him?"

"All too well." she muttered in reply.

Jake frowned. What had his father done to her? He cursed himself for caring -however unwillingly- but he wanted to question her, to find out more about Albert Wesker. A man he'd never even met. And never would, thanks to the BSAA Captain sat opposite him.

"Jill, do you know why you were captured?" Chris spoke up, tactfully changing the subject for her sake.

"I think they wanted a sample of the T-Virus antibodies in my blood," she responded, drawing a blanket tighter around her shoulders, "but I don't know why-"

"The Family are making a new B.O.W." Jake interrupted, "It's all down to this new disease called Red. It's highly radioactive so they want a host that can cope."

"What kind of living thing could cope with radiation?" Jill wondered aloud.

"Sherry." Jake answered bitterly.

Her eyes widened, "Oh."

"Of course." Chris said, "That's why she's in hiding."

"I need to find her," the mercenary told him, "You think you could drop me off in Siberia?"

Chris and Jill shared a look, before Chris spoke, "We can put you on a plane. But Leon and Claire will want to know you have a lead."

* * *

**And that's all I've got so far. If you think it's worth continuing, please let me know. Press that button, you know the one.**


	2. Chapter Two

**Thank you for the encouraging reviews, they enabled me to finish this chapter. I'm not sure I like the structure of this one though; it's kind of fragmented. I'll let you see for yourself. Also, thank you to 'Super Girl' and 'jess', for their anon reviews. **

**I don't own Resident Evil.**

* * *

**Red**

The zombies were going to get her. Despite her young age, she understood that quite clearly. These things were not people anymore, and they wouldn't hesitate to hurt her.

So she backed up as quickly as she could on her injured leg, struggling to get away. The hoard continued to advance.

"No! Get away!" she cried desperately. It made no difference. She tripped, she fell. She panicked.

Suddenly the zombies were thrown aside, by something much worse. Something that used to be her father, but now there wasn't much of him left. The vague human aspects of the monster were overshadowed greatly by the mutating effects of the G-Virus.

The huge, red eye that sat imbedded into its right shoulder swivelled towards her.

"No!"

The monster stalked towards her, reaching out an arm to grab her.

"_No!" _Sherry screamed, her eyes snapping open. It took her a few seconds to realize she wasn't back in Raccoon City. She wasn't about to be infected with the G-Virus by her own father. She was safe.

Or at least, as safe as she could be when hiding from the Family. Sherry sat up in bed, glancing around the dark room, listening intently. All she could hear was the wind and hail.

She sighed in relief and flopped back onto the mattress, before pulling the thick duvet tight around her body to keep out the cold. It was comforting to be in a warm, cosy place while the freezing storm raged on outside.

Sherry allowed her eyes to slide closed once more. Flashes of her nightmare appeared before her eyes, and she frowned. She needed to think of something else.

"_Koocheng is up ahead, at the mouth of the river." she informed him, checking her phone to be sure._

"_All right. Come on." Jake replied, jogging a few steps away, eager to get going._

_But Sherry didn't follow, instead staring at the location on her phone with a troubled expression. What if Leon was right, and Simmons was not the man she thought he was?_

_Jake knew what was on her mind. A few months ago he would have told her to stop being so pathetic; she shouldn't have trusted in anyone but herself anyway. Now he knew better. He walked back to her._

"_You're worried about Simmons, right?" he asked._

_Sherry nodded once, not trusting her voice. Jake stepped in front of her so she would look at him._

"_You're gonna be fine, okay?" he whispered, promising her with his eyes. He knew she was stronger than she thought she was._

_She met his gaze, nodding. She truly believed him._

Sherry smiled slightly, now able to sink back into the depths of sleep.

"_You're gonna be fine..."_

* * *

"Leon!" Claire called, jogging into his office. Said man glanced up at her.

"You find something?" he asked. Leon was going through Sherry's most recently completed paperwork for the fourth time, trying to see if she'd left any clues as to where she was hiding.

She nodded, explaining in a rush, "I just got off the phone with Chris. He said Jake's heading to Siberia, he thinks Sherry is there."

Leon stood up, "How does he know?"

"She apparently gave him a GPS tracker. It's her last known location."

"Finally, a decent lead," he muttered, walking around the desk towards her, "All right, let's pack some supplies and get going."

Claire nodded once more, resolute, "I have a good feeling about this."

"Good." he replied as they left his office, "But Siberia has a lot of ground to cover, does Jake know exactly where she was last?"

"A town called Verkhoyansk, in the republic of Sakha."

* * *

As soon as Jake touched down in the small airport of Verkhoyansk, he thanked the pilot and headed to the market.

In hindsight, perhaps he should have prepared better for the freezing conditions; Jeans, a shirt and a leather jacket weren't going to do him any good here. He needed warmer clothes, desperately, or an archaeologist may be chipping away at his frozen corpse in a few decades time. The mercenary didn't have any money...but he did have plenty of guns.

Jake managed to trade his Bear Commander for boots of reindeer skin, a sheepskin coat, thick gloves, a scarf, and a hat made from fox fur. The kind woman let him change in her house, before sending him on his way with some thin slices of icy, raw fish and a couple of frozen red patties to eat; of what, he wasn't sure.

He'd described Sherry to the woman and asked if she'd seen her, but she had shaken her head. So he carried on asking the other townsfolk that spoke a little English, with minimal results.

* * *

What was once a series of laboratories in the underground facility the Family had built was now reduced to rubble, ash, and twisted metal.

"Damn it." Chris muttered. There was no way any files or samples could have survived.

"They must have up and left," Jill stated, "and cleaned up their mess while they were at it."

"It explains why we didn't run into any resistance." The BSAA Captain agreed, "All right men, let's get back to HQ, there's no evidence to uncover here."

The small group of soldiers turned and walked away, but Jill placed a hand on Chris' arm to make him hang back. He looked at her questioningly.

"It's risky to be investigating into the Family's business, Chris." she told him softly, "We don't know who they are, or who's involved with them. If the previous Chief Security Advisor was a member, then they probably have connections everywhere. The BSAA's funding could be cut, you could be discredited-"

"I know." he responded, "But regardless, they caused the terrorist attack in China, so it's our job to bring them down."

Jill smiled, "I know you're passionate about stopping bio-terrorism. But I just want you to be cautious. We may be in over our heads here."

Chris nodded, "You're right, I'll be careful." Then he lowered his voice, "Maybe it's best if you sit this one out-"

"Don't be ridiculous, Chris Redfield." The woman interrupted determinedly, "I'm sticking with you no matter what. We're partners."

He smiled at her, and reached out to twist a lock of her hair between his fingers. Hair she had to dye brown due to the strain her body had been through when under the control of Albert Wesker.

"I just don't want you to get hurt, Jill." he confided, tucking the hair behind her ear.

She reached up and laced her fingers with his, pressing his hand to her cheek in reassurance, "I'll be fine. We can handle this. Together."

He hoped she was right.

* * *

She wasn't here.

He'd asked around, searched everywhere. She wasn't here. She must have moved on.

"Damn it!" Jake exclaimed to the universe, frustrated.

Only a horse breeder on the outskirts of town was near enough to hear him. The man beckoned him over, and Jake complied.

"Hey, I'm looking for someone. She's about 5"6, blonde, short hair, gray eyes, smokin' hot," the mercenary described once he reached him, "You seen her?"

The man said something he didn't understand. Jake shook his head in disappointment, "Sorry, I don't speak Russian."

The man sighed, before pointing pointing north east, away from the town.

"Huh?"

The horse breeder threw his hands up in frustration, before trying again, "Girl." he said in a strong Russian accent, "Bought horse here." He gestured so their surroundings, before pointing in the same direction as before, "That way, far away."

Jake's spirits lifted as he was filled with a renewed sense of purpose, "Thanks."

He turned to leave in the direction the man pointed to, but stopped. If Sherry had needed a horse to get to wherever she'd been going, it was likely he'd need one too. The mercenary turned back to the horse breeder. He gestured to the nearest horse, then to himself.

"Ah." The man made a noise of affirmation and nodded, rubbing his fingers and thumb together in the universal sign for 'hand over the cash'.

Jake took out his shotgun from his backpack and held it up. The man laughed and nodded, holding out his gloved hand which Jake placed the shotgun into. The horse breeder handed the reins of the horse over to him.

"Female. Lidiya." he told him. The Yakutian horse was small and stocky, with a thick mane.

The mercenary nodded, "Thank you."

They shook hands.

* * *

Ada Wong had been hired by the Family to ensure Leon and Claire did not get to Sherry. She could do that.

The Partenavia P.68 the two were flying in would just have to make an emergency landing, that was all.

Dressed in warm layers, Ada patiently waited for the plane to pass over her location. The large tent she had been using was very warm in contrast to the freezing conditions outside, but still she waited.

Then she saw it. The small plane was coming quite close to the mountain she was staking out on. Ada took aim with her sniper rifle.

They were very close to the town of Tura of the Evenkiysky District, so Leon and Claire would be able to take refuge there. Plus she knew for a fact Leon had some basic knowledge when it came to driving a plane, so he wouldn't crash and burn. At least, she sincerely hoped not.

Ada had to keep her friends close, and her enemies closer.

"Sorry Leon." she whispered, before pulling the trigger.

* * *

**Like I said, it's fragmented. Not sure if that's a good thing. What do you think?**

**Thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter Three

**Unfortunately there's no Chris or Jill in this chapter, but they will be in the next one. Thank you to 'jess' and 'Isla Bell' for their very nice anon reviews.**

* * *

**Red**

The first thing Claire became aware of was the cold. The all encompassing, disquieting kind of cold that seeped right down into her bones. She realized she was shivering, probably because she was face down in snow.

Then she realized something was burning.

The Terra Save member opened her eyes slowly, to see the ruined remains of the plane, burning fiercely. Oh yes, now she remembered. The pilot had been fatally shot. Leon had tried to keep them in the air, but-

Leon!

Claire raised herself to her knees quickly, only to regret it in the next second. Her body ached all over. She brought her hand to her neck and rubbed away the sharp pain there. Glancing around for Leon, she found him about thirty feet away, motionless.

The woman crawled over to him slowly, fearing the worst. She checked for a pulse once she reached him; he was alive, thankfully.

"Leon, wake up."

Leon remained still, so she lifted his head and placed it in her lap, folding her legs under her. When her left hand came away bloody, her eyes widened.

"Oh God." The woman muttered as she examined her partners head injury. The small cut was bleeding profusely, but Claire reminded herself that head injuries always looked worse than they actually were.

"You're clearly not waking up for a while." she told him pointlessly.

Claire sighed and glanced around. All she could see for miles was snow. She warred with herself for a moment. Stay here and try and keep warm until Leon woke up, or venture into the icy wilderness and hope they would find shelter?

"Well Leon," she said brightly, "Looks like I'm carrying you."

Ada silently watched on from her vantage point as Claire tied the supplies to Leon's back before lifting him onto her own. She would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't worried about Leon, but it seemed Claire would make sure he pulled through; she was a Redfield, after all. They'd be fine.

Still, she'd watch over them until they reached Tura, just to be sure.

* * *

Jake had been riding north east for half an hour. He was starting to get impatient again. Sherry truly had gone to great lengths to make it difficult to find her. The Yakutian horse, Lidiya, would need to rest soon, and so would he. Preferably in a relatively warm place, or he wouldn't survive the night. His face was starting to sting from the cold, even with his C-Virus enhancements.

"Good girl," he murmured to the horse as she struggled through the snow, "Can't be far now."

Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed something gray against the stark white of the snow. It was moving towards him from his left. Jake pulled gently on the reigns to make Lidiya stop.

A wolf was prowling slowly towards them.

"Ah shit." he whispered. This wasn't good. Usually wolves would be harmless, but this one looked like it had its hungry eyes set on the horse. And maybe him too. Perhaps lack of food had driven the animal to desperate measures.

Even worse, wolves hunted in packs. This one couldn't possibly be alone.

The mercenary dismounted the horse quickly, drawing his handgun. His eyes scanned the area, and sure enough, four more wolves were closing in on him.

Jake pointed the gun to the sky and let off a warning shot that made the wolves jump back in fear, and Lidiya reared in shock. He threaded his right hand through her mane to keep her still, and she shifted uncomfortably. The wolves didn't leave.

"Alright then," he muttered, "You asked for it."

The first wolf he'd spotted was the closest, and was obviously making a beeline for the horse. The creature was picking up speed, intending to lunge and latch onto Lidiya's neck to take her down. Just as the wolf shifted its weight to its hind legs to pounce, Jake shot it between the eyes. It fell to the ground with a loud whine, dead. He turned, gun raised, to confront the other wolves. They seemed to understand they would not be getting any food from this encounter; they were backing away, before they turned and ran.

Lidiya snorted, and the sound seemed triumphant. Jake smirked as he pulled himself up onto her back.

"You don't get any credit." he told her, as they set off again, "I did the work."

She snorted again, haughtily this time. He shook his head.

They continued on for another fifteen minutes. Then he spotted something in the distance that looked like...a log cabin. It looked fairly sturdy and spacious from the outside. He tried not to get his hopes up, but he prayed Sherry was in there.

* * *

Claire had paused a moment to catch her breath. Leon seriously needed to lose some weight. She wanted to stop and rest for a while, but the ominous howling she heard frequently deterred her.

The Terra Save member struggled on, although the cold was starting to get to her a little. Even her high tech snow apparel seemed to do little to keep her warm; her fingers were beginning to go numb in her gloves, her ears stung, and her throat hurt with every breath she took.

Another long chorus of howls started up again, much closer this time. Then suddenly, it cut off.

Claire stopped as she heard growling behind her. She turned around slowly, to face five wolves, spreading out around her to box her in. They must be awfully hungry to dare attack a human, she knew. She didn't want to risk placing Leon down and leaving him defenceless, so she reached for the handgun on her hip hesitantly.

A shot rang out unexpectedly, and the wolf closest to her dropped. Claire made the mistake of turning her head in the direction the bullet came from. Another wolf pounced on her, knocking Leon away from her as she fell to the ground. She raised her forearm to hold off the wolf before it tried to take a bite out of her neck. Drawing her handgun, she shot the animal in the stomach, and pushed it off her.

More shots were going off, and another two wolves were down by the time Claire got up. She aimed at the last creature that was running towards her, intending to pounce.

It fell to the ground with a bullet between the eyes, but not from her gun. The shot came from behind her this time. She turned around.

"Leon, you're awake." she noted, lowering her gun.

"Yeah, just in time." he replied, placing his handgun back in its holster, "Who else was shooting them for us?"

"I have no idea, I didn't see."

"Well, let's just be grateful and keep moving, or we'll freeze out here."

* * *

After stoking the fire in the living room with more dried wood, Sherry entered the stable connected to the cabin in order to tend to her Yakutian horse, Viktor. She made sure he had plenty of hay and water, before offering him a red apple as a treat. Viktor turned his nose up at it.

"Fine, I'll eat it then." she told him, leaving him be. Sherry had developed a taste for apples since meeting Jake; they reminded her of him. She took a bite as she moved to her bedroom, intending to grab a book to read.

She paused when she heard a noise coming from the stable, but shrugged it off. It just sounded like Viktor was making a fuss because she'd left. Then she heard a bang and a clatter, and the sound of the stable gate opening and closing. That couldn't be the horse.

Sherry quickly placed the apple down and picked up her Triple Shot from the bedside table. She checked it was loaded before slowly making her way to the living room.

A knock at her door made her jump slightly, before she frowned. Why on earth would a member of the Family, or J'avos under their control knock at her door?

She made her way to the door, and took a deep breath to prepare herself for the cold gust, before throwing it open and raising her gun.

The man behind it automatically raised his handgun upon seeing hers, but they both lowered their weapons at the sight of each other.

"Jake." Sherry gasped, her heart skipping a beat.

He smiled, "Hey there, super girl. I've been looking for you."

* * *

"Leon, look!" Claire called over the wind, pointing towards lights only yards away.

"Looks like a town." Leon responded, picking up the pace. Claire followed, glad they could finally get out of the cold. God, what she wouldn't do for a hot bath.

They entered the industrial town of Tura and headed towards what looked like an inn. Upon crossing the threshold, they were almost immediately confronted by the innkeeper, who scoffed at their 'high tech' snow gear.

"That won't do here," he told them, "You need animal fur."

"We know that now," Claire replied, "Can we please stay here?"

"Of course," the man said, addressing her first, "Your room is up the stairs, second door on the right." Then he turned to Leon, "And yours is directly opposite."

Leon and Claire shared a confused look.

"Don't we...have to pay?" the woman asked uncertainly.

The man nodded, "Your friend has already paid four thousand roubles for you to stay."

"What friend?" Leon asked.

"A woman. Slender, pretty, short black hair in a bob."

Leon frowned. That description sounded awfully familiar.

* * *

Sherry dragged Jake into the cabin quickly before shutting the door. Then she turned and threw her arms around his waist, overjoyed to see him. The mercenary reciprocated by wrapping his arms around her shoulders, pressing her to him tightly.

Inhaling the sweet honey and vanilla scent that emitted from her body, he realized he finally felt whole. Now that he knew she was safe; now she was real and tangible in his arms. He would've quite happily held her for a very long time.

But Sherry pushed him away suddenly.

"What do you think you're doing here?" she asked, sounding irritated.

Jake frowned in confusion, "What?"

"Jake, I've gone into hiding for a reason. You're in danger by being here with me."

So that was her problem. He scoffed.

"I'm serious," she told him, "You need to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere, Sherry." he replied stubbornly.

"Jake-"

"I'm not leaving." he cut her off, his tone final.

Sherry brought a hand to her forehead and sighed. She knew once his mind was set, there was no discouraging him.

"Fine, you can stay for a while." she conceded, crossing her arms. Jake smirked victoriously, and she couldn't help but smile back slowly; she felt as if everything would be okay as long as he was close to her.

* * *

**Alright, that's that. I was going to update hours ago, but we had a power cut, so sorry about that. Thank you to those who have reviewed so far, your words are very encouraging. :)**


	4. Chapter Four

**Sorry that this is a bit of a late update, I was working on other stuff. But this chapter is a little longer than the others. Many thanks to anon reviewers, 'jess', 'Marie01', 'Nienor', 'HelenaKennedy', 'BluEyedLightning', and 'endlessfantasy'. And of course thank you to other reviewers to whom I've already replied. I've taken all your comments on board. Plus, thanks for the favs and follows from members. I really appreciate it. :)**

**I don't own Resident Evil, or any of the characters.**

* * *

**Red**

"Chris, it looks like there's nothing here either." Jill announced eventually.

The BSAA Captain sighed heavily in frustration. Why did their leads seem to result in dead ends? Chris knew the Family would be difficult to incriminate, but he was beginning to wonder if it was even possible to bring them to justice for their crimes. The large, complex catacombs they had uncovered definitely belonged to the Family, but there was nothing to link them to bio-terrorism.

"Alright," he muttered in defeat, "Let's get out of here."

He said the words, but didn't move, glancing around once more. Surely there had to be something here; anything to lead him to the next step. Chris' eyes fell on the sarcophagus of one of Simmons' ancestors, a previous leader of the Family. The middle of the lid was raised slightly.

Jill appeared by his side as he used one gloved hand to wipe the dust from the middle of the lid. Underneath was a serpent crest made of stone. The BSAA partners glanced at each other before Chris pushed it down. It slid into place with a dull click. There was a grinding sound under their feet, followed by a muffled thud.

After a few seconds of silence, Jill sent a puzzled look at Chris, and he shrugged. Then there was the sudden sound of rushing water to their right, and the ground opened up beneath them.

Jill yelped in surprise, and got a mouthful of water as the current carried them away.

"Jill!" Chris cried, trying to reach for her. But then he was falling through air and into a huge expanse of water a fifty feet below him, with Jill following soon after.

As soon as she impacted with the water, feet first, she began to swim up. Though it was difficult with her BSAA uniform and equipment weighing her down. When her head broke the surface, she immediately looked around for Chris. He was nowhere to be seen.

"Chris!" she called over the roar of the falling water. She was about to go under and search for him when he popped up, just a few meters away from her. He coughed twice, before turning to her.

"At least we found something." he said dryly.

She sighed in relief; he was obviously fine. They looked around for an exit. There were many tunnels above them from which water cascaded down into the pool, but they were far too high up to reach.

"Chris, look there." Jill said, pointing to another small, Family serpent crest on the wall. They swam towards it.

Chris took a breath and went under the water, and sure enough, there was the exit.

"There's an underwater tunnel here." he informed his partner when he bobbed back up.

She nodded in confirmation, "Okay, let's go."

They both took a deep breath before submerging themselves once more. Jill went into the tunnel first, and swam strongly until she reached a point where the tunnel split into two paths. She paused, glancing back at Chris.

He had his eyes on the floor of the tunnel, as there was an intricate pattern on the bottom that went into the right one. The BSAA Captain reached out to squeeze Jill's ankle, signalling for her to follow him. They swam on for another thirty seconds, before Chris saw an opening above him. His head broke the surface of the water and he gasped for air, his lungs gratefully taking it in. He noticed there were high walls around him in the enclosed space, and a ladder to his left, but he waited until Jill turned up next to him.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yes." she replied, catching her breath.

Chris made his way over to the ladder and started climbing, and Jill followed. He peeked over the wall once he was high enough, and his eyes widened.

"Damn." he breathed in shock. He made sure no one was around before hoisting himself over the wall, reaching back to help Jill up.

"What's wrong?" she questioned, before he pulled her over the wall so she could see for herself. She gasped, realizing that they must have just climbed out of a well.

"Oh my god." she murmured.

It was obviously very old, but there was a whole city in front of their eyes.

* * *

As soon as Claire had taken her gloves and socks off, it was immediately apparent she had frostnip.

"Because that's exactly what I need." she muttered to herself sarcastically, examining her too pale, blotchy fingers and toes. Now that she was starting to warm up again, they were starting to tingle and burn. And they were so _itchy._

Claire changed into some pyjamas, then put on some clean socks along with her gloves so she wouldn't be tempted to itch her damaged skin. She needed to check on Leon to make sure his concussion wasn't developing into anything serious.

The DSO Agent was trying to sleep in the room opposite Claire's, but his brain would not cooperate. He couldn't get his mind off Ada. She had protected Claire and him from those wolves and got them a place to stay. She was here, somewhere, in this town. But why? What business did she have here? Was she trying to help him find Sherry? He found that very hard to believe. Ada was unlikely to do anything unless it benefitted herself in some way. She'd had no qualms with using him to get what she wanted on a number of occasions in the past. Leon pressed the heels of his hands to his temple. He was so confused. His head hurt.

There was a knock at his door, and Claire's voice filtering through it, "Leon?"

"Yeah." he acknowledged, and she entered.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, closing the door behind her.

"I'm fine."

She made her way over to the bed and sat on the edge, before raising her gloved hands, "I have frostnip."

Leon smirked, "I have a concussion. I win."

He sat up slowly as she hummed in amusement. It was then Claire realized he was shirtless. She was suddenly very aware of her own body, as her limbs unexpectedly felt clumsy. She placed her hands in her lap awkwardly. The woman checked her gaze, struggling to keep her eyes on his face.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked, keeping her voice even.

If Leon noticed her discomfort, he didn't say anything about it, "Nah, it's too hot in here."

"Maybe you have a fever." Claire suggested, reaching out a slightly shaking hand to touch his forehead. She could feel the heat rolling off him even through her gloves, "I think you're coming down with something."

"Well we can't afford to waste anymore time resting," he replied, "We have to head out in the morning."

"I know," she replied, letting her hand drop, "but if you feel bad in the morning, we're not going anywhere. You'll be practically useless, and I am _not_ carrying you again."

He chuckled, "Alright. We'll see how we feel in the morning."

Claire stood up, "Okay then. We should get some sleep. I'm going to check on you every hour, okay?"

He nodded, laying back down, "Yes ma'am."

* * *

Jake had decided that horses were quite proud creatures, really. His Lidiya, for example, was a bit of a diva. Though Sherry's horse Viktor was clearly trying to impress her with his elegant, yet strong demeanour, she was having none of it.

"Go on girl," he told her, swinging open the stable door even further, "go get some exercise."

She snorted at him. She wouldn't go while Viktor was cantering around outside.

The mercenary sighed, "You should be grateful Sherry's letting us stay, the least you can do is socialize with her horse."

Lidiya brayed crossly, but shifted in defeat. He raised an eyebrow sternly, "Go on."

The Yakutian horse trotted out sullenly, and Jake swore she gave him the evil eye as she passed.

He closed the stable door and leaned against the high fence that enclosed the horses exercise space, quickly becoming lost in thought. Sherry. She was safe, thank the gods. But she didn't want him here. Jake frowned. No, she was happy to see him, but she thought that she was putting him in danger. That was the only reason she wanted him to leave. Well, it didn't matter what she thought, he was staying with her. Now that he'd found her, he wasn't letting her go. Not until he was completely certain she wouldn't be hunted by the Family anymore. A dark, selfish part of him secretly hoped that they'd keep looking for her for a very long time. Let them look; he'd make sure they would never have her.

Jake was completely focused on his thoughts, until a large snowball impacted with the back of his head. He heard Sherry's mischievous giggle as he turned around to confront her. He grinned at what he saw. She had built herself something similar to a small fort made of snow, and was currently hidden behind one of the high walls.

"So it is to be war between us then?" The mercenary murmured, smirking in enthusiasm. That was fine with him. He scooped up a handful of snow and packed it into a ball as he ran for cover behind a large evergreen tree. Snowballs continued to hail down on his position, pinning him there.

"That all you got Sherry?" he taunted, sneaking a quick look around the tree trunk to judge her position. Another snowball came flying towards him, missing his face by inches, "Ha, you missed!"

The attack stopped, and he guessed she was gathering more ammo. This was his chance. He ran towards the makeshift fort and barged down a wall of snow, spotting his target to his right. Jake threw the snowball in his hand with precision, and it struck her in the chest. Sherry gasped in surprise and tried to run, but he ran after her and tackled her to the ground, rolling a few times in the snow.

She was laughing. Truly laughing. He sat up and turned to her as she remained laying in the snow. He didn't think he'd ever heard her properly laugh, not in all the time he'd known her. There had never been an occasion for it. He smiled at the sound before her laugh quietened.

"It's been far too long since I had a snowball fight." Sherry told him, spreading out her arms and moving her legs to make a snow angel, "I wasn't allowed to play with any other children after I escaped from Raccoon."

He'd never heard her talk about her ordeal in Raccoon City either. Only that her father exposed her to the G-Virus somehow, and Claire and Leon saved her. Jake found himself wishing she would open up to him more.

"I couldn't play in the snow with the other kid's either." he confided, resting his elbows on his knees, "I had to look after my mom. Though there was this one time she dragged me outside after a snowstorm and we made an igloo and a snowman, even though I told her she'd catch her death..."

She turned her head towards him, "What did she die from?"

"Her influenza developed into pneumonia, and I couldn't get any antibiotics."

What a pointless death. Sherry touched his gloved hand with her own, wishing she knew what to say to make it better. The corner of his mouth twitched up, and he reached out and brushed his knuckles against her cheek reassuringly. The gesture was extraordinary because it was so unlike him to be tender, and she appreciated it.

The horses abruptly began to panic, making a racket and galloping around aimlessly. Jake and Sherry stood, looking around for what had spooked them. It didn't take long for them to find it. The mercenary recognized the wolf he'd killed just yesterday; it still had the bullet wound lodged between its eyes. The creature was growling fiercely, slowly coming towards them from the shelter of the trees. It was only partially covered in fur; there were also patches of raw, exposed flesh.

Jake drew his handgun, and beside him Sherry did the same, "It must be the T-Virus." she informed him.

"Yeah, I can see that," he responded sarcastically, "It should be dead."

The wolf suddenly sprang towards them, and they were forced to jump apart. Jake rolled once before raising his gun and firing twice, piercing the wolf in the side. It barely reacted. Instead it lunged again towards Sherry, who chose to shoot at it rather than dodge. Her shots landed, but had little effect and the animal managed to pin her down.

"Jake, help!" she cried. He was already running towards her, drawing his left hand back before letting loose a cobra strike that made the wolf yelp in pain as it was knocked back. The mercenary raised his gun and fired two more shots, this time to its head. The final shot was delivered by Sherry from the ground; it pierced the creatures jaw and exited from the back of its skull. As it fell –finally dead– Jake realized Sherry was bleeding.

He knelt next to her, "It bit you?"

"Yeah," she replied, sitting up and pressing a hand to her neck momentarily, "It's okay, I'm healing."

He watched in morbid fascination as the blood flow slowed dramatically, and new skin quickly formed over the wound. Her face was scrunched up in pain as the familiar burning sensation assaulted her neck. She sighed when it was over.

"Come on, let's get inside and get you cleaned up." Jake suggested, helping her stand.

She smiled at him faintly, "Thanks for saving me, Jake."

He didn't bother to reply; there was no need for her to thank him. She'd already saved him a thousand times over.

* * *

**Feel free to tell me your opinion, I'll be happy to hear from you. The Doc Manager was a bit funny with this chapter, so please point out anything that may be off. Hope you enjoyed it.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	5. Chapter Five

**Unfortunately there's nothing from Leon and Claire in this chapter, but plently of Sherry and Jake to make up for it. Thank you to 'jess' and 'Jill valentine' for their anon reviews.**

* * *

**Red**

Jake grabbed his gun when he heard Sherry scream.

"Jake, help me!"

He sprang off the couch he'd been sleeping on, now fully alert, adrenalin surging through his body.

"Sherry!" he called, dashing into her bedroom. The sheets were rumpled and messy, but she wasn't there. Shit, the Family must have found them.

"Jake!" he heard her cry his name again. The mercenary dashed towards the stables and kicked open the door. The horses were shifting frantically, and the gate was open. Many sets of footprints were imprinted in the snow.

Completely disregarding his improper attire for freezing cold weather, he sprinted outside. After a while, red droplets appeared alongside the footprints. Blood. If Jake wasn't panicked before, he certainly was now.

"Sherry!" he called desperately. His only answer was the howling wind. He felt like he couldn't breathe; the thought of losing her terrified him. His heart was pounding as he struggled through a particularly deep patch of snow. More and more blood seemed to materialize the longer he ran.

Then the trail stopped abruptly. No more blood. No more footprints. Jake looked around wildly. He was surrounded by snow and trees that obstructed his vision.

Sherry was gone.

"No, no, _no._" he gasped out. He promised himself he'd keep her safe.

He pulled in as much air as possible in his panicked state, and called out to her again, "Sherry!"

"Jake."

He jerked up quickly. His lungs couldn't seem to function properly; he clutched at his side as he wheezed.

"It's okay, it was just a nightmare." Sherry soothed.

Jake looked over at her sitting next to him on the couch. She was safe. She was with him. She was holding his hand.

Suddenly it was much easier to breathe, and the hand pressed to his side moved to pinch the bridge of his nose as he slumped in his seat.

"Fuck me." he muttered. He'd had nightmares practically all his life. He'd dreamt of his mother, sick, frail and dying. He'd dreamt of his deeds as a mercenary; the light dimming from the eyes of the lives he took. But none were as terrifying as the nightmare he'd just experienced.

"You were calling my name," Sherry informed him, "Was I in trouble?"

He sighed, "Yeah. They'd taken you, and I couldn't stop them."

She didn't have to ask who 'they' were. He continued quietly, "It just felt so real." He was still out of breath, as though he really had run for miles in the snow.

She squeezed his hand gently, "But it wasn't. We're okay."

The mercenary allowed himself a moment of weakness and tightened his grip on her hand. They'd been taking turns to comfort each other whenever they woke from nightmares for a while now. Though while Sherry's were getting less frequent, Jake's were only getting worse.

"We're okay." she murmured to him repeatedly, wishing it were true. She needed to talk to him about leaving. Being here with her wasn't only putting him in danger; it was affecting his health and wellbeing. The thought of him not being with her made her want to curl up and cry, but his interests were more important than hers right now.

Jake laced his fingers with hers and breathed in the scent of her skin; honey, vanilla, soap. And snow. She reminded him of snow.

Seeing that he was finally relaxing, Sherry resolved to talk to him in the morning instead.

* * *

Chris dragged Jill behind one of the worn buildings when he heard footsteps coming towards them. They pressed themselves up against the wall as the group passed them, and Chris glanced cautiously around the corner to see the retreating backs of four people in hooded robes.

"There are people _living _down here?" Jill questioned in disbelief. The answer was confirmed when two pale children -dressed conventionally, yet plainly- rushed past their hiding place, apparently quite happily playing tag.

"Wow." she muttered, staring after them sadly, "They've probably never even seen the sky."

Chris flipped open his GPS, "We're going to need backup." It was working, but there was no signal. He sighed, "Or not."

"Maybe it would be best if we keep a low profile and gather some more intel first anyway. Then we can try and find a place to call for help." she suggested.

Her partner nodded, "Good idea. We need to find some different clothes."

They hugged the wall as they moved around to the other side of the building to the door. Jill tried the handle.

"It's open." she informed quietly. He nodded in confirmation and readied his weapon. She pushed the door open slowly, and Chris scoped the room as he entered wearily.

"Clear." he muttered. Jill entered in after him and made for the stairs while he checked the simply decorated kitchen. Nothing. He followed her upstairs, and she met him on the landing, "Three bedrooms, one bathroom, all clear."

"All clear downstairs too." he replied. She led him to what seemed to be the master bedroom, where a four poster, king-size bed was the most impressive piece of furniture in the room.

"It has a kind of rustic charm to it, don't you think?" Jill asked, opening the right hand part of the wardrobe while removing her holsters. It seemed that the lady of the house kept her clothes here, while the man's were taken up by the left side.

Chris chuckled once as he searched for something that would fit him, "I remember you tried to convince me to decorate our house like this."

"It's nice." she responded, "Simple, but cosy."

"Cold, and uncomfortable." he countered as he took off his melee vest, and she sighed.

"You know, they say compromise is the key to a lasting relationship." Jill informed him playfully.

He smiled as he removed his shirt, "Alright, you can have a new dining table or something, but the bed stays as it is."

She clicked her tongue to get his attention, and Chris turned to her. His breath caught when he saw she was wearing just her blue, lacy underwear.

"I bet I could get you to change your mind." she told him, placing a hand on her hip and grinning at him.

His eyes couldn't help but roam over her beautiful form until he forced himself to look away. They both knew he couldn't resist her, but he firmly reminded himself that now was not the time.

"Later." he told her, pulling a plain green t-shirt over his head, "Then you can decorate the house however you like."

She laughed lightly in triumph, before continuing to get dressed in a simply patterned, brown and blue tunic with skin tight, dark leggings and knee high brown boots.

Chris buttoned up his dark slacks and finished putting on his combat boots, before starting to gather his equipment, "Gotta leave the vests," he muttered uneasily, "Always makes me feel exposed without them."

"Me too." Jill replied, closing the wardrobe, "But we'll stick out like a sore thumb otherwise."

He silently agreed with her, before smiling at her attire. She somehow managed to make anything she threw on look amazing. Chris stepped towards her and held her face in his hands gently. Jill smiled knowingly before his lips descended on hers. Her hands moved to rest on his chest as she nibbled at his bottom lip, which prompted him slant his mouth against hers and deepen the kiss.

"Excuse me?"

They instantly jerked apart, turning to the source of the small voice. Chris' hand went to the handgun sat in its holster, until he realized the speaker was a girl no older than sixteen. She was very pretty, with light brown skin and shiny, black hair. She was smiling at them.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." The girl said, gazing at them questioningly, "But this is my parent's house. Who are you?"

The partners glanced at each other before Jill spoke, "Um…we're-"

"Are those _guns? _" The girl abruptly asked, cutting Jill off.

"Yes." Chris replied uncertainly, "But we're not going to hurt you."

Jill felt that there was something off about this girl. She didn't seem afraid of two armed intruders in her home at all. The woman wondered if she'd lived down here all her life.

"Hey, have you ever seen a gun before?" Jill questioned.

The girl shook her head, "Oh no, they're not allowed. My Uncles and Aunties say that they cause all the chaos and death up top."

Chris frowned, "Up top?"

"On the surface," she elaborated, "There are bad people up there, but it's safe down here." Then her eyes widened as though a thought had just occurred to her, "Wait…you must be from up top."

"Yes, we are," Jill told her, making her way around the bed towards her. Now the girl held some fear in her eyes. "It's okay, we're not going to hurt you," Jill promised, "I'm Jill, and this is Chris. What's your name?"

"Maiara." she answered hesitantly.

"That's an unusual name." Jill commented, noticing a serpent tattoo resting on the girls left wrist. Chris had spotted it too, and moved to stand beside Jill.

"Chris and Jill are unusual names." Maiara disagreed, smiling again. They smiled back.

"Maiara, what's this?" Chris asked, pointing to the tattoo.

She held her wrist out, "Oh, we all have one. We get a tattoo when we're little, to show that we're part of the Family."

Chris and Jill shared another look.

"Why don't you tell us about your Family, Maiara?" he asked.

* * *

There was an air of tension between them that neither could shake, nor confront. Sherry worried over Jake's reaction when she asked him to leave, and what she'd do when he refused. Jake worried that Sherry would try to send him away soon, and he wondered how he'd feel when she did.

They barely talked, and when they did it was uncomfortable. Therefore awkward silence reigned as Sherry curled up on the couch staring into the fire, and Jake sat on the floor, leaning against the wall next to the fireplace.

He glanced at her every now and then, trying to gauge her expressions and body language, before giving up and looking away again. She also stole fleeting looks at him when he wasn't looking, wondering what he was thinking, but not able to guess.

Eventually Sherry cracked, "Jake, we need to talk."

This was it, he knew, "I'm listening."

She steeled herself and sat up, "You have to leave now. You know I'm okay, and you don't need to protect me-"

"Yes I do," he interrupted calmly, "It's you who doesn't need to protect me."

"What?"

"You only want me to leave because you think I'm in danger, but you're not thinking about yourself."

"I'm fine-" she disagreed, but he cut her off again.

"You're being hunted by some super cult that want to use you for their own twisted experiments Sherry!" he said, standing up, "Of course you're not fine. But you're a little safer if I'm with you."

Sherry stood with him, "I don't think you get it, Jake. The Family don't need you anymore. If you stand between them and me, they won't hesitate to kill you. Why don't you understand you need to stay out of their way, and that means staying away from me?"

The mercenary watched carefully as she broke eye contact to stare at the floor, and he stepped towards her, "You don't want me to leave."

She frowned and jerked her head up to contradict him, but found the words lost in her throat when she realized how close he was. Sherry clenched her jaw and brushed past him.

"See, you're not denying it." he pointed out, his voice softer.

She sighed, keeping her back to him, "Of course I don't want you to leave, Jake."

He got in her space again, but this time she didn't move away, "Then I'm staying."

Sherry turned around to face him, shaking her head, "You can't."

He sighed in frustration; he _knew _she was aware that there was something between them, so why was she still fighting it?

Jake brought his hands up to cradle her face gently, and suddenly Sherry's unyielding demeanor crumbled. She stared up at him like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Jake…" she breathed anxiously, knowing what he was about to do, "Don't." If he kissed her now, she'd never be able summon the strength to send him away.

He ignored her, bringing his face closer to hers, "Sherry, can't you be selfish, just this once?"

She wasn't sure how to respond, but he made the decision for her by closing the distance between their lips. Sherry closed her eyes instinctively, feeling her body begin to warm up from the inside out; coupled with the tingling sensation from her lips, it felt like sparks. Jake didn't even understand what was happening; he'd been with other women, but none of them had ever made him feel like this. He brought his shaking hands down to slide across her shoulders and arms, gathering her trembling form against his chest and moving his lips along her chin to her neck-

Her hand shot out to send him stumbling back; his legs hit the arm of the couch and he almost fell, but he managed to right himself at the last second.

Sherry hugged herself defensively, and pressed her lips together to ward off the tingling sensation before she spoke, "_Don't _Jake…please."

He frowned in confusion and made to reach out for her, but she backed away, and he let his hand drop dejectedly.

"I…" she looked like a little lost child for a moment, "I'm going to bed."

She stalked past him and shut her bedroom door firmly, and he was left alone, trying to catch his breath and organize his thoughts.

What the hell just happened?

* * *

**Finally, they kiss. I was wishing they would throughout the whole of their campaign on RE6.**

**If you have any comments or opinions, I'll be happy to hear them.**


	6. Chapter Six

**The longest chapter yet, and I didn't really squeeze everything I wanted to into it either, so Chris and Jill's breakthrough type thing is going to have to happen next chapter instead. Thank you very much to ****'jess', 'Jill valentine', 'Guest', and 'Leticia' for their anon reviews.**

**Notice the rating has gone up? That's because I'd give this chapter an 'M', though I wouldn't consider it _overly_ graphic.**

**Don't own Resident Evil.**

* * *

**Red**

"I've always wanted to do this." Claire told him, tightening her new fur coat around her; it was delightfully warm compared to her previous attire.

"Do what?" Leon asked playfully, "Hang out with me for a couple of weeks in Russia?"

"No," she responded, though she felt her cheeks heat up slightly, "I've always wanted to own a team of sled dogs and journey over a thousand miles."

The Agent snorted, "Interesting. Though technically, we're only using them to travel about seven hundred miles."

"We had them with us on the train, so it counts."

"Fine, fine." he appeased, smiling slightly and looking over at the twelve Siberian huskies resting in the snow.

"They're so cute." The Terra Save member commented, running her fingers over the ears of the husky closest to her. He stirred slightly, but otherwise continued to doze.

Leon hummed in agreement, though his eyes scanned the horizon; he was eager to get going again as soon as possible. They had been able to travel by train from the industrial town of Tura for three hundred miles, but from then on the remaining seven hundred and forty five miles to Verkhoyansk had no tracks, and no roads.

"If we take the innkeepers word for it that we'll average about five miles per hour," he muttered quietly, "that means it will take about a hundred and forty nine hours to get to Verkhoyansk."

"So, realistically," Claire said, resting her chin in her hand, "we're looking at about a seven days journey."

"Yep," he replied, "Maybe we should've gone for snowmobiles after all."

She shook her head fiercely, "The dogs are more reliable, and just _look_ at them Leon, they're gorgeous."

He shook his head amusedly at how attached she had grown to them in such a short period of time, "Still, I wish we could get to Sherry faster."

"Me too," she agreed, her expression growing concerned, "Do you think she's okay?"

Leon nodded slowly, "Jake should have found her by now, surely."

"Albert Wesker's son," Claire murmured thoughtfully, "Are we sure he's completely trustworthy?"

"He's proven he's not like his father." The Agent told her, "I only met him a couple of times in China, but he seemed to have Sherry's back. If he _is_ with her, she's in good hands."

* * *

Sherry slipped on her coat as she emerged from her bedroom, heading for the stables as quietly as she could.

"Good morning."

The voice from the couch surprised her; she thought he was still asleep. But when he sat up it was clear he was already fully dressed.

"Going somewhere?" Jake asked curiously, noting her attire.

For a moment she had to catch her breath as she looked at him, unwillingly remembering the feel of his warm lips on hers-

She blinked, "Yeah, just going into town to get some more groceries and stuff."

The mercenary stood resolutely, "I'm going with you."

Sherry rolled her eyes discreetly and continued towards the stables. She'd expected he would want to go with her, which is why she had tried to sneak away. She needed some space for just a few hours; it was almost impossible to think straight while he was near her. Although she had a feeling that not having him close would mess with her head even more.

They readied the horses in silence and set out. It seemed neither of them wished to talk about the kiss they'd shared the night before, though it was on both their minds. Even the horses seemed to understand that they should keep some distance between their owners; Lidiya trotted a few paces behind Viktor without any prompting from Jake. Sherry sighed into the tension, glancing back at him. She hated that this situation was putting such a strain on their friendship; one thing she was sure of was that she didn't want to lose him.

He noticed her staring, "What?"

She smiled at him warmly, deciding to appeal to the childish, immature part of him, "Race you?"

Jake seemed to perk up at the notion, urging Lidiya to go faster. "Prepare to lose, super girl." he called to her as he passed. Sherry grinned, encouraging Viktor into a gallop alongside him.

* * *

Maiara was absolutely convinced that the surface was a place she simply could not go.

"It's bad up there." she insisted again, eyes wide.

Chris and Jill could understand her apprehension. The society down here was controlled completely by the Family, and it was supposedly perfect; there were no guns, no crime, no B.O.W.s, no fighting, no wars. The BSAA Agents had been wandering around the city with Maiara as their guide, and none of the citizens had looked at them with anything even akin to suspicion. They had no reason to.

"Not necessarily," Jill countered, "You'll all be under the protection of the BSAA."

Maiara shook her head, "I don't want to go, and no one else will either."

The only drawback to this society was that it seemed everyone was brainwashed to believe whatever the 'Aunties' and 'Uncles' of the Family told them.

Chris sighed, realizing there was no reasoning with her, "All right Maiara, we're not going to force you, or anyone else."

Jill sent him a look before he continued, "Can you give us a minute?"

The girl nodded as the BSAA Captain took his partners hand and pulled her out of earshot.

"Chris, how are we supposed to pull a raid with innocent civilians in the way?" Jill questioned quietly, "If we bring an armed team down here it's going to cause a panic."

"I know," he responded, "Which is why we're not calling for backup."

The woman frowned, but waited for him to continue.

"We're going to go into 'the Sanctum' alone." he told her, glancing at the tall, cylindrical tower in the heart of the city that Maiara had told them only the most important Family members were allowed to go.

Jill looked unsure, so he squeezed her hand, "Trust me?"

She nodded without hesitation, "Of course."

He leaned in to steal a quick kiss before they made their way back to Maiara.

"Okay Maiara, we're going into the Sanctum to...talk to your Aunties and Uncles." Chris informed.

She nodded, "Okay. I'm not allowed though-"

"That's okay," Jill assured, "We'll be fine. You should go home."

"Alright then," she responded, "It was nice meeting you." She held out her hand politely, "Bye Chris. Bye Jill."

"Goodbye Maiara." Jill replied, briefly taking her hand.

"Thanks for showing us around." Chris commented, shaking her hand also.

With that, Maiara turned on her heel and left them. They stared after her for a while.

"I can't decide whether I feel sorry for her, or envious of her." Jill murmured.

* * *

Sherry tended to the horses, while Jake finished putting the groceries away in the pantry. He walked into the stables holding two green apples.

"I think the winners of the race deserve a treat." The mercenary said, offering an apple to Lidiya. She took it from his hand gratefully, before raising her head in Viktor's direction, obviously taunting him with it. Jake smirked.

Sherry scoffed, "You got lucky. Next time, Viktor and I are going to leave you in the dust."

Viktor snorted in apparent agreement with her statement.

Jake stepped towards her, tossing the apple in the air and catching it, "Luck had nothing to do with it. It was all skill."

"Skill, hm?" she responded, placing her hand on her hip and giving him a sceptical look.

He nodded, leaning in close to her, the smirk still on his face, "I'm good at a lot of things Sherry."

She narrowed her eyes slightly at the mild suggestiveness in the statement, but found her heartbeat picking up. He _was _an incredible kisser. Her gaze fell from his clear, pale blue eyes to his lips unconsciously. Jake wanted to kiss her again, badly, but was confused over her previous rejection and didn't want to push her. So he settled for taking a bite of the apple in his hand with a smug air, before leaving the stables.

Sherry bit her lip and exhaled a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Then she shook her head at his nerve, smiling slightly, before following him into the living room. She needed to convince him to leave now, while he seemed to be in a good mood.

"Jake," she called, and the purposefulness in her tone made him pause, "You have to go."

The mercenary clenched his fists, almost crushing the apple. His patience with this topic was seriously wearing thin, "No."

She blinked, not expecting him to flat out deny her, "What?"

"I said no," he repeated, turning to her. His expression was almost angry, and it made her nervous.

"But Jake-"

"Damn it Sherry, would you shut the fuck up about this?" he exclaimed, throwing the apple into the fire, "I'm not leaving you. Deal with it."

Her back stiffened, but she made an effort to be the calm, rational one, "You are not safe if you're with me."

He made a noise of pure frustration, "I don't _care!_ Why don't you get that?"

"Why won't you _listen?_" she countered, becoming irritated herself, "You know I'm right."

"But it doesn't matter!"

"Of course your safety matters!" she retorted incredulously, "I'm not going to let anything happen to you!"

He recalled her saying the very same thing when they were in Edonia, _"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, the world needs you!" _The world didn't need him anymore, but she did. And she wouldn't let him help her because he might get hurt. He almost laughed at her selflessness; she'd make a terrible mercenary. Claire and Leon had instilled too much heroism into her. Well, he wasn't so selfless, "Is it because I kissed you?"

She suddenly had to stop looking at him, and he knew this was an opportunity, "I know you want me to stay, and it's not because you need me to protect you from the Family."

Sherry shook her head in denial, and he slowly advanced on her. She wasn't sure what to do to convince him otherwise, and backed away in defiance as she spoke, "I-I'm six years older than you."

He raised an eyebrow, "That's a pathetic excuse."

Her back it the wall, "...After all we've been through, you're like a brother to me, Jake."

"Bullshit," he scoffed, shaking his head as his arm came up to rest above her head against the wall, "You wouldn't have kissed me like you did last night if I was like a _brother_ to you."

She met his eyes as he leaned against her. He could tell she was just stalling; she wanted him to kiss her again.

Their lips met in one, fluid motion. In the next, Sherry was forced to clutch his shoulders as Jake picked her up, gripping the back of her thighs before setting her down on the oak table next to them. Unfortunately, Sherry kept all her kitchen equipment on there; the utensils and dishes were sent crashing to the ground to make room for her body. Neither seemed to care. He unglued his lips from hers for a moment to concentrate on removing her boots hurriedly, tossing them away to join the shattered porcelain the floor.

"Jake wait, we can't." Sherry told him, placing a restraining hand on his chest, though she desperately wanted to pull him closer.

"What?" he questioned disbelievingly.

"We can't," she repeated, "If we do I won't b-"

She was cut off abruptly by his mouth over hers as he reached for the hem of her shirt. Raising her arms, she allowed him to tug it over her head, leaving her in a vest top. He claimed her lips again almost immediately, and it was difficult for her to think rationally when he tasted so damn good.

"No." she breathed into his mouth, "Jake-"

"Ah, screw your fucking logic Sherry." he responded, lifting her up against him again before making his way to her bedroom. Once inside, she stopped clinging to him and stood on her own two feet, and for a bitterly disappointing moment he thought she truly didn't want him. His heart sank, but then her hands were tugging at his jacket and pulling it down his arms to toss it behind him somewhere, and he reacted quickly by easing her back onto the bed and crawling over her.

He met her eyes and paused for a moment, temporarily lost in her soft, hungry gaze. Sherry took the opportunity to slide her soft hands under his shirt, caressing his muscled abdomen and chest. He exhaled shakily at the sensation and allowed her to pull the garment up and over his head. Jake wanted to say something, but didn't know how to say it.

"Sherry, you remember in Edonia when you went out of your way to tell me that you didn't hate me?" he asked quietly. She nodded, running her hands up his back and across his shoulders. He brushed his lips against her cheek, "I don't hate you either."

Sherry smiled slowly in understanding; it was the closest he could get to telling her how he felt about her, and she was fine with that.

They shed the rest of their clothing in due course, until Jake tried to remove Sherry's vest top, and she grabbed his wrist to stop him before he could pull it over her breasts. He suspected that she was perhaps self conscious, though she had no need to be. That was okay for now; he'd convince her she was beautiful in time. Instead he moulded his mouth to hers to swallow her soft moan as he slipped inside her.

Sherry closed her eyes tightly because nothing had ever felt so good. A part of her felt guilty for doing this to him, and herself; they were giving a piece of themselves away to the other that neither of them would ever be able to get back. Just how was she supposed to even think about being without him now? Now that she knew how good he tasted and felt and how he cared for her? But there was no going back; she was losing control of herself, as though her mind and her body were very separate things.

"Jake." she whimpered in need, before biting her lip in an attempt to control her loud breathing.

He groaned at the utterance of his name and drove into her harder, curling his fingers tighter to her hip in the hope his short nails could leave just one mark on her unblemished body that would brand her as _his, _and his only. She was close, he could tell, and he desperately wanted to see her fall apart in his arms. He got his wish a moment later when she arched her body and cried out his name as she came, hard, dragging her nails down his back. He felt a surge of triumph before he had to bite down on her shoulder to muffle his own cry of satisfaction as white spots exploded behind his eyelids.

Jake let his forehead rest on her shoulder as his body went limp, and he listened to her gasp for breath. Sherry let her arms drop on either side of her head as her muscles seemed to uncoil and relax, leaving her very tired and drained. She was still trembling as he turned his head and slowly licked a trail up her neck, wiping away the sheen of sweat on her skin until his mouth reached her lips. She allowed his tongue to swipe over hers, before summoning the strength to raise her hand and push against his chest.

He took the hint and withdrew, collapsing next to her. Jake brought a hand to his head in an attempt to ground himself from the afterglow.

"Jesus Christ." he muttered.

She almost laughed, but the pressure in her chest stopped her; she was so overwhelmed she wasn't sure if she wanted to push him away and make him sleep on the couch, or pull him closer and make sure he never left this bed again.

Sherry turned her head to look at him, catching his eye. Under the scrutiny of his soft, warm gaze, she rolled towards him to throw an arm and a leg across his body and clutch him closer.

* * *

**Like? No like? Let me know.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	7. Chapter Seven

** Apologies that this took so long. No Leon and Claire this time, but they'll have their moments soon. Thank you to anon reviewers, 'Jill valentine', 'Namesdontmatter' , and 'kultkayleigh'. Plus, a special thank you to 'jess', whos reviews have always been helpful from the very first chapter. :)**

**I don't own Resident Evil, or the characters.**

* * *

**Red**

Sherry ascended from the depths of sleep slowly, feeling very comfortable and at peace as she opened her eyes. She'd slept better than ever with no nightmares to disturb her, and felt happy and well rested.

Then she became aware of several sensations at once; her back was very warm, there was a steady stream of soft breath on her neck, and an arm was wrapped around her loosely. She closed her eyes again as she remembered the night before.

'_Oh my god, I had sex with Jake Muller.'_

Sherry cautiously moved Jake's arm and got up, intending to search the room for her clothes. She shivered as her bare feet touched the chilly floor. It was so cold she was tempted to jump back into bed again, but she needed some space to clear her head, and a fire to heat the cabin wasn't going to start itself. So she slipped on her underwear and slippers, but was unable to find her leggings. Deciding that warming the cabin was more important, she quietly tip-toed into the living room.

Jake grudgingly woke from one of the best night's sleep he'd had in years; he'd had no nightmares. Eyes still closed, he reached across the mattress for Sherry in the hope he would fall asleep again. His hand only came into contact with bed sheets. He opened his eyes.

She'd left the bedroom door open, so he could see her moving around in the living room. She stoked the fire, before moving to collect her shirt and boots from the mess of kitchen utensils and broken dishes they'd left on the floor. Jake raised himself up to rest on his elbow and eyed her bare legs. As though sensing his eyes on her, she glanced towards the bedroom, and was instantly caught in his almost complacent gaze. He smirked, and she smiled nervously back.

"Sorry," she mumbled, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Nah, don't worry about it," he replied, sitting up, "slept like a baby."

She looked away hurriedly as he got up, unashamed in his nakedness, and began searching for his pants. She concentrated instead on grabbing a dustpan and brush and sweeping up the fragments of porcelain from the floor.

After disposing of everything that was irreparable, Sherry turned and almost bumped into Jake's bare chest. He'd decided to forgo every item of clothing save for his slacks; she struggled not to blush. He smiled as he took the dustpan and brush away from her and chucked them into the corner. Taking her hands, he positioned them on his shoulders before placing his own hands on her waist and drawing her closer.

Her lips began to quiver in anticipation, but he overlooked them in favour of pressing a flurry of slow kisses from underneath her earlobe down to her shoulder. Sherry closed her eyes and sighed.

"You gonna send me away now?" Jake asked quietly.

"No." she murmured, turning her face into his neck.

* * *

There were no guards posted outside the Sanctum, and Chris and Jill met no resistance as they cautiously made their way through the labyrinth of corridors.

"These 'Aunties' and 'Uncles' seem awfully trusting." Jill commented, gripping her handgun tightly.

"The society down here is so brainwashed they probably wouldn't expect anyone to disobey them." Chris replied, also keeping his assault rifle at the ready.

Torches lined the stone walls of the corridors, giving any shadows an eerie liveliness that made them both uneasy. The two continued to make spur of the moment decisions as to which way to turn, until Jill stopped suddenly.

He turned to her questioningly to see her tilt her head slightly, as though listening to something. Chris tried to listen also, but could hear nothing himself.

"Jill?" he whispered.

"I can hear voices." she told him quietly. Because Zombies were attracted to noise, her T-virus enhancements granted her exceptional hearing. She turned and walked in the opposite direction, and he followed her as she led him down a different corridor. After a while, he could hear voices too.

They reached a large, black door with a golden serpent crest embedded into the wood. The voices were clearer now, obviously coming from the other side of the door. Jill moved silently to the right side of the doorway, while Chris took the left. He sent her a look, and she nodded as she pressed her ear to the door gently in order to eavesdrop.

"Project Red is advancing slowly but surely, Father." A female voice announced, "The scientists believe they have found a host suitable enough to withstand the Radioactive Exothermic Disease."

"Good." Answered a smooth, male voice, "And what of the search for Sherry Birkin?"

There were a few seconds of quiet, until a different voice spoke, "We have not been able to apprehend her yet, Father."

Jill involuntarily jumped at the bang and clatter that followed the statement.

"How difficult can it be for my Family to track down a single person?!"

"We are narrowing down the search," Another female declared, "There is reason to believe she is hiding in Siberia. Jake Muller has been tracked to Verkhoyansk."

"Jake Muller." The male voice stated, seemingly surprised, "The C-virus host. He escaped from Facility47 a while ago, along with Jill Valentine."

"Yes, Father. Ada Wong has also confirmed that Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy seem to be heading towards Verkhoyansk also."

"Have they been stopped?"

"Yes, for the moment. But there is no doubt Muller has reached Birkin by now."

There was another short pause, "We can use this to our advantage. I will hire a group of mercenaries to deal with Muller. And we will give Kennedy and Redfield a bit of a surprise once they reach Verkhoyansk that should delay them indefinitely."

Chris and Jill heard the sound of a chair legs being scraped along the floor, "I'm going to head to Verkhoyansk to confront Sherry myself."

"Father, are you certain that is wise?" A male voice asked, "Taking into consideration the history you share-"

"I will hear no objections." Was the response, "Meeting adjourned."

The sound of more chairs being scraped back prompted Chris and Jill to glance at each other, and he nodded. There were at least five people in the room that they knew of; hopefully they would be able to handle the situation.

The partners kicked open the door and swiftly entered the room.

"Freeze!" Chris ordered, raising his gun. Beside him, Jill did the same.

The Family members in robes were shocked and did as they were bid, raising their hands in surrender. It seemed they were unarmed and unprepared. Except the young man in a dark suit that stood at the head of the table; he smiled and spread his arms as though welcoming them, seemingly unfazed at the weapons pointing in his direction. He was tall, blonde and tanned, and had piercing, bright blue eyes.

"Ah, Chris Redfield," he said warmly, as though greeting an old friend, "and Jill Valentine too. What a pleasure it is to finally meet you both in person."

"Who are you?" The BSAA Captain questioned.

"My name is Tobias Morgan. I am the new head of the Family." he told them, dropping his arms.

"You're all under arrest." Jill asserted. The Leader of the Family shook his head, amused. Unbeknownst to the BSAA Agents, he pressed a button under the large table.

Suddenly a thick, opaque gas came pouring in from all sides of the room, causing Chris and Jill to reel back, coughing and sputtering uncontrollably. The Family members scattered, running through the various exits from the room as fast they could.

"After the Leader!" Chris managed to gasp out. Jill had caught sight of a mop of blonde hair and ran after it. Her partner followed her hurriedly.

They ran through the vast corridors and up flights of stairs, following the sound of Morgan's footfalls, though he was too far ahead for them to see him. Eventually they came to a tall ladder, and Jill barely slowed before she jumped onto it and began climbing swiftly. At the top, there was another, wider and more modern corridor, but the light source came from the end.

"Looks like it leads to the surface." she stated, her eyes searching for Morgan, until Chris appeared beside her.

A loud, shrieking alarm rang out, and panels on the walls opened as hoards of infected rushed out; Zombies, Lickers, Napads, J'avo, and Reapers.

"Oh God!" Jill exclaimed, shooting down the nearest J'avo, while Chris concentrated fire on the Reapers' weak spots. He managed to take one out before a Licker's sharp tongue pierced through his shoulder. He cried out in pain, and his partner was instantly by his side, bringing up her combat knife to slice through the creatures tongue.

Chris launched himself towards Jill in the next second, knocking them out of the way of a charging Napad. He dragged her up quickly.

"Run!" he yelled, keeping her hand as they sprinted towards the exit, dodging some Zombies that lunged for them. He wasn't sure if they would be able to get out, never mind trying to contain the creatures.

"Captain!"

Despite the fact that they had disobeyed his orders, Chris had never been happier to see his back up Team, who dashed into the tunnel, opening fire as soon as their Captain and his partner were clear.

Then he heard Jill scream, and turned his head in time to glimpse out of the corner of his eye...the bullet ripped through her chest, spraying blood everywhere. Time seemed to slow and the gunfire faded to background noise as she fell forward, hitting the ground hard. He still had her hand in his.

A potent wave of adrenalin surged through him, throwing everything into sharp focus. Amongst the chaos, his eyes searched for the shooter, and caught a glimpse of Tobias Morgan with his smoking handgun raised in their direction. He was behind the hole from which they'd climbed through, against the wall on which he now pressed a button, sounding another alarm and causing a sturdy steel door to descend from right in front of him. Chris stared at his indifferent expression until it was out of sight, and then turned back to Jill. He would make that bastard pay later.

"Don't let any infected survive!" The BSAA Captain roared, "Contain the infection!"

He heard a few shouts of confirmation as he scooped Jill up into his arms, and took off running towards the exit.

"You're going to be okay, Jill." He told her, as though saying it out loud would make it true.

* * *

Sherry had sent him out to buy more plates, as none had survived their fall yesterday. Almost as soon as he returned Lidiya to the stables, Viktor sauntered up to stand next to her. The female horse huffed, but allowed it. Jake grinned in amusement as he took off her saddle and reigns, before picking up the large paper bag filled with new porcelain dishes and heading into the main room.

What he saw there made him pause. There was an old fashioned tin bath in which Sherry reclined with her back to him, bathing in front of the fire.

"Shut the door, you're letting the cold air in." she admonished gently. Jake did as he was told, then set down the plates on the table before walking towards her, taking his jacket off as he did so.

"What do you think you're doing, getting naked without me?" he asked playfully, and she laughed.

"Heaven forbid I have a bath without you." she said sarcastically, watching as he kneeled beside the tub and began to roll up his sleeves past his elbows.

"Damn right." he agreed, ignoring the sarcasm. Sherry shook her head, pretending not to be amused.

But her eyes still honed in on his hands, plunging beneath the surface of the hot water to warm them. He left them there for a while, until the urge to feel her soft skin became too great; using his right hand, he touched her knee, before sliding his palm down her inner thigh slowly. He watched as she bit her lip and closed her eyes.

Smirking a little at her reaction, he removed his hand and instead traced his fingers over her collar bone lightly, listening to her sigh.

"You are so beautiful, Sherry." he told her quietly. She smiled, but didn't open her eyes.

"Thank you." she replied softly. He leaned in and kissed her then, wrapping his arms around her gloriously naked form and pressing her chest to his, disregarding the fact that she was soaking his shirt through. She responded by throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him back just as feverishly.

Jake leaned back momentarily to remove his wet shirt hurriedly, and Sherry abruptly crossed her arms over her chest. Once he'd pulled the garment over his head and saw this, he frowned.

"What's wrong?" he asked, slightly breathless, grasping her shoulders. She shrank away from him. Not knowing what else to do, he kissed her again, and she brushed her lips against his gently to reassure him that it wasn't his fault.

"You shouldn't be self conscious," he encouraged once he'd pulled away, "You _are _beautiful."

She shook her head, "Can you just look away while I get out?"

"Come on, super girl," he said soothingly, wrapping his hands around her wrists and tugging gently, "You don't have to hide from me."

"Jake, don't!" she reprimanded, but he'd caught a glimpse of light blue on her pale skin.

"Is that a tattoo?" he asked curiously, "Is that what you don't want me to see?"

He tugged harder at her wrists, and she was forced to grab the side of the bath tub to stop herself from slipping further into the water, which gave him the opportunity to finally pull her arm away from her chest.

They both froze. There, embedded into her skin, directly over her heart, was a serpent crest tattoo.

* * *

**Boom. Left off on a bit of a cliff hanger there; I bet you want to read more, right? Right?**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Next chapter up. Things are starting to get dramatic now. Thank you to anon reviewers 'jess' and 'Jill valentine'. And also to 'lekittenz', who for some reason I forgot to thank last chapter.**

* * *

**Red**

Instantly Jake reeled back, standing up and removing his hands from her as quickly as possible as though she were contagious. Sherry tried not to let the hurt at his disgust show on her face.

"What the hell?!" he demanded, pointing an accusing finger at her. She stood and stepped out of the bath, grabbing the warm towel that was previously resting on the floor and wrapping it around her body hastily.

"Jake, please listen-" she implored, but he cut her off.

"I can't believe this!" he yelled angrily, "You're a member of the Family?!"

"No!" she denied, "I'm not-"

"Then what the hell is that?" he exclaimed, pointing to her chest.

She pressed a hand over her heart, "It's a tattoo."

"It's a tattoo of the Family's serpent emblem." he hissed, leaning forward imposingly, "Why is that on your body, Sherry?"

She moved towards him, reaching for his arm, "Please just sit down and I'll explain-"

"Don't fucking touch me!" the mercenary spat, glaring at her as he pulled away. Sherry panicked; if she couldn't get him to calm down and listen to her, then there would be no reasoning with him.

"Jake, wait..." she strangled out, the fear constricting her voice as she tried to cling to him.

He struggled with her half-heartedly, not allowing her to get too close to him, yet the look on her face broke his heart. But his feelings for her was what made this betrayal hurt so damn much.

"You've been lying to me since we first met!" he accused, finally flinging her hands away from him, "You've been working with the enemy all along!"

She shook her head and opened her mouth to speak, but he interrupted again, "What did you _really _do with my blood, Sherry? I bet you passed it off to them to experiment with!"

"No, I didn't!" she shouted frantically.

He ignored her, "And when I was captured by the Family...you probably led them right to me, didn't you?!"

Sherry continued to shake her head wordlessly, tears welling in her eyes at his accusations.

"So this must be a set up." Jake concluded, livid and hurt, "I don't know what you're planning but-"

"I'm not planning anything." she sobbed, "I'm not part of the Family, I swear."

She looked so distraught and sincere that for a moment he almost believed her. But he'd been hurt by others too many times, and this treachery was the worst of all. He'd let her in, trusted her, and it had come back to bite him, as it always did. Suddenly he wasn't angry anymore; he just felt drained, and broken.

"I can't even look at you right now Sherry." he told her, almost choking on her name. He snatched up his jacket as he walked towards the door.

"Jake," she wept, "please don't leave me."

He paused with his hand on the door handle, closing his eyes briefly in regret, before he yanked it open and stepped out into the cold.

Sherry managed to stumble towards the couch and collapsed on it, crying mournfully. It was ironic he had finally left her now that she wanted him to stay; it crushed her more than she thought it would.

* * *

"Sir, your shoulder needs attending to." The nurse tried again, reaching for his arm.

"I said I'm fine." Chris repeated, jerking away from him, "Can you please just see what's going on in there?"

The nurse sighed in defeat, but shook his head, "No one can go in to the operating room until the doctor says so."

The BSAA Captain put his head in his hands. The nurse finally left him reluctantly with a sympathetic look.

He prayed Jill would be alright. If he lost her, he didn't know what he'd do; there was already a tense, nauseating knot in his stomach at the possibility. There had been a time when he'd thought she was dead -saving him from Wesker- but they had never found her body, so there had always been that glimmer of hope. Yet this time, he had seen for himself the bullet tear through her chest; saw all the blood she'd lost before he'd got her to the nearest hospital. If the doctor told him she was dead, there would be no denying it. There would be no hope left.

The doors to his left opened, and a surgeon walked out. Chris stood up swiftly.

"Is she alright?" he asked anxiously.

The surgeon nodded and responded hesitantly, "It would seem so." Chris sighed gratefully and sagged back into his seat, overwhelmed with relief.

"But that is what's so strange about it." The brunette woman continued.

Chris looked up, "Why is that?"

"Your colleague shouldn't have survived." she responded simply, "The bullet passed through her heart."

He frowned, but didn't question how she could be alive; he was merely thankful that she was.

The surgeon clearly wanted answers, and pressed further, "Right now she's in a medically induced coma, though it seems she can wake up whenever she likes, despite the hole in her heart."

"Hole in her heart?" Chris repeated, confused.

She nodded, confirming he'd heard right, "We closed it up as best we could, but still, it's there. And yet she's breathing on her own, and her heart is functioning."

He didn't know how to respond, and she smiled, "You can see her now, we're putting her in a recovery ward."

* * *

Jake was cold, and he was sure the town was at least an hour away, but he needed to do _something, _so he continued to walk in the general direction of Verkhoyansk.

He couldn't get his head around it; his sweet, beautiful Sherry was his enemy. It just didn't make any sense. It made him question all he knew about her. He knew she'd been locked away from the world since she escaped Raccoon City, keeping her safe from his father's clutches. Yet this must have made her awfully lonely. Perhaps she had turned to her guardian for guidance – Derek Simmons, previous leader of the Family. Perhaps he had convinced her to become a member.

The mercenary halted abruptly, finally realizing he'd been so shocked and hurt at his discovery that he hadn't given her the chance to explain herself. He sighed, deciding to turn back; he hadn't planned on leaving her for more than a few hours anyway. Glancing up at the sky, he noted it was getting dark, and wondered of Sherry believed he wasn't coming back. He supposed he would put her mind at rest.

Despite not being as aware of his surroundings as usual, instinct still made him duck and roll a split second before the shot rang out. He rolled just enough to turn around and face the four armed mercenaries that were closing in on him. Jake cursed himself for leaving his weapons back at the cabin. However, he was confident he could take them out without weapons.

In the next second, Jake was sprinting towards the group of mercenaries, zigzagging as he ran to avoid the bullets they sent his way. Once he'd reached the nearest man, he executed a faultless back flip that knocked the mercenary to the ground hard. Without pausing for breath, Jake grabbed the man's legs and threw him into another two mercenaries to his right, sending them all crashing down in a tangle of limbs. Turning his attention to the man on his left, Jake elbowed him in the face causing him to stagger back in pain, clutching his bloody nose. He took the opportunity to put the man in a headlock and twist his own body around while falling backwards, driving the man's head into the ground and breaking his neck. Jake flipped back up to see the last two mercenaries were standing once more.

Sherry had temporarily frozen in terror at the sight of Jake's attackers, though he seemed to have the situation under control; she watched as he knocked one of the mercenaries out by throwing him into two others, and then used a simple DDT to break another man's neck. Her eyes widened in shock; he was _killing _them?

"Jake!" she yelled, pushing Viktor to head towards him.

"Sherry." he muttered aloud, surprised, though he didn't tear his gaze from the mercenary that was raising his shotgun in his direction. Before he could pull the trigger, Jake managed to get in a powerful tiger uppercut that sent him flying, knocking the gun away. Then he had to dodge the sharp combat knife that was swung towards his face by the female mercenary, whom he had previously been avoiding. He'd always been slightly apprehensive about fighting women; he could never shake the feeling that it was wrong. But if she was clearly intent on killing him, he had no choice. That, and he couldn't stand the thought of dying by a blade. So when she swung at him again, Jake grabbed the hand wrapped around the hilt of the knife and twisted her arm behind her, stabbing her in the back. She groaned in pain as she slumped forward, and he caught her and set her down in the snow.

By this time Sherry had almost reached him, and saw him pick up the shotgun. Jake checked it was loaded, and aimed at one of the unconscious mercenaries on the ground, before he pulled the trigger.

Viktor abruptly lurched back in alarm at the sound of gunfire, and Sherry struggled to calm him.

"Jake, stop!" she exclaimed, shocked at his actions. That man had been unconscious, and no longer a threat, yet he had still killed him. She didn't understand why.

Jake looked up at her this time, frowning slightly. He didn't understand what she was so shocked about; he killed other people for a living. Not that the mercenary could ever get used to it. Sometimes he'd see their faces and blank stares in his dreams and thought he was going insane. But this was what he had to do to survive. This was part of who he was.

He pointed the gun at the head of the final unconscious mercenary and fired once more, strewing masses of brain and bone across the pure white snow. Viktor swayed back again, frightened, but Sherry couldn't take her eyes off Jake, surrounded by all the dead bodies and blood that stained the snow red. She felt like she didn't know who he was anymore.

He stared back at her silently. Sherry was clearly frightened of him, and that hurt. Yet what a hypocrite she was; he didn't know who she truly was either.

Jake turned away from her and began walking towards the town. Sherry did not attempt to follow him.

* * *

After travelling almost a thousand miles, Leon and Claire were mere hours away from Verkhoyansk.

The twelve sled dogs pushed on with minimal guidance from Claire, who stood on the back of the sled while Leon ran alongside for a while.

"Almost there!" she exclaimed eagerly. Beside her, Leon grinned; her enthusiasm was infectious.

They were almost there. However, they were unprepared for what awaited them.

* * *

**Okay, that's it for now. What did you think?**

**I want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far. It keeps me going. :)**


	9. Chapter Nine

**Hi guys. Sorry this look so long, I was working on other things. This chapter is one of the longer ones, though. Thanks to 'jess' and 'Jill valentine' for their anon reviews.**

* * *

**Red**

Jill was having the most fantastic dream. She was floating on her back in a limitless expanse of crystal clear water. The sun was bright, and the sky was the most potent blue she had ever known.

She felt a gentle tug at her wrist, and looked over to see a smiling man, stood in the water next to her. He was tall and muscular, with short brunette hair and chocolate brown eyes. She felt a rush of affection for this man.

'_Chris.' _She thought suddenly, _'His name is Chris.' _Of course. She loved him.

Jill smiled widely as she stood up, and then threw her arms around him. She was _so _happy he was here.

Unexpectedly he was gone, and she was looking up at a helicopter in relief. It was going to take her out of Raccoon City. She was saved.

A sound made her turn her head in time to watch the missile fly towards the helicopter.

"No!" she exclaimed as the missile hit, exploding on impact and causing the helicopter to fly into the clock tower, smashing it to pieces.

"No." she muttered again in dismay. Jill turned to the source of the projectile to spot Nemesis. The monster jumped down from the building it had previously been stood on.

"S.T.A.R.S..." It rasped out, stalking towards her.

She dodged the swing from the missile launcher and backed up quickly, but she was cornered.

Nemesis sent a tentacle shooting towards her, piercing her shoulder. She grunted in pain and pressed a hand to her wound as dread overtook her. That was it; she was infected with the T-virus. Even if she managed to escape from Nemesis, she was going to die.

She was going to die. But that was okay as long as Chris lived. Jill hadn't really thought about tackling their enemy out of the window. They clearly didn't stand a chance against him, and it had been obvious the blonde was going to kill Chris. So she'd acted on instinct, and had thrown herself at him. She remembered falling through the air, past the cliff face and into the waters below.

When she next opened her eyes, she was submerged in what felt like water, but she was upright. Her body ached terribly, and her eyes stung at the green glow surrounding her. She noticed the blonde man standing in front of her, observing closely.

'_Wesker.' _She remembered, _'Albert Wesker.' _Of course. She hated him.

She hated Wesker so much. If she could ever be free of his influence, she was going to make him pay.

Jill winced internally as she sent another roundhouse kick in Chris' direction. He stumbled back, clutching his jaw, and she elbowed Sheva in the face when she tried to restrain her.

'_Oh god, I'm so sorry.'_

"Oh god." she muttered, shooting down the nearest J'avo. There were so many infected, they surely couldn't fight their way out.

"Run!" Chris ordered, dragging her along by the hand. She complied and ran with him, weaving around the various infected.

Jill felt the shot before she heard it; it ripped through her chest mercilessly, and she screamed. She fell forward and smashed into the floor. There was blood everywhere.

She was going to die.

Her eyes flew open. She gasped as she looked around wildly, dazed and confused.

"Jill." Chris said, touching her cheek reassuringly, "It's okay, you're in the hospital."

She relaxed and sank back into the pillows. He smiled at her.

"Just rest for now." he told her, "The doctor said you might have post-traumatic amnesia."

"No," she muttered, staring at him, "I think I remember everything."

Her hand shot out to curl around the back of his neck in order to tug him towards her. Chris made a noise of surprise that was abruptly cut of when his mouth crashed into hers. She kissed him with everything she had, and he didn't question it. Instead he placed a hand on her cheek and kissed her back.

Eventually he pulled back for air, "Wow. Okay."

His partner smiled at him, "It was a close one this time, hm?"

Chris rested his forehead against hers, and spoke softly, "Yeah. I was scared."

Jill closed her eyes and didn't reply. She'd had a lot of close calls; too many, perhaps.

* * *

Leon and Claire had left the dogs resting near the inn, before heading over to the bar. It was late, and anyone still awake would be there, most likely. It was questionable whether they would be able to get any reliable information about Sherry from half drunken patrons, but it was a start.

"Finally, we're close to finding her." Claire said happily, "I can't wait to see her."

"Me neither," Leon responded, "Then we can decide what to do about her situation."

A gust of comforting warm air hit them as they entered the bar, shutting the door behind them hurriedly. They glanced around, and the DSO Agent had to do a double take when he spotted a man in the corner. His partner sent him a questioning look, "What is it?"

"...Jake?" Leon asked quietly.

Jake downed another shot before slumping over the table again. He was struggling to think clearly, which was exactly what he wanted. He didn't want to think about her, about the look of horror on her face when he watched him kill those people.

The mercenary frowned, before picking up the bottle of vodka and pouring himself another shot, throwing it back quickly.

Maybe she was right though, a part of his mind whispered. He needn't have killed them; he should have at least kept one alive as a hostage, and questioned them. Another part of his mind suspected he killed them all just to spite Sherry for hurting him...

"Ah shit." he mumbled, drinking straight from the bottle.

Inebriated as he was, he could still sense someone heading straight for his table in the corner, but he refused to raise his head.

"Table's taken." he told them unpleasantly, his speech somewhat slurred.

"Yeah, I can see that." Leon replied. Jake finally looked up.

"Well, if isn't the hero. Made it huh?" he acknowledged nonchalantly, sparing a look for the woman with him.

"We ran into some complications." Leon explained flatly.

"Where's Sherry?" Claire asked, cutting straight to the point, "We thought she'd be with you."

The mercenary scoffed, raising the bottle to his lips and taking another deep drink before he responded sullenly, "She doesn't need our help."

"What do you mean?" Claire persisted, sitting down beside him. Leon did the same on his other side. But Jake's coherency was wavering under a topic he didn't want to think about. He waved a hand dismissively.

"She don't need protecting from nothing." he told them bitterly, "'s all a lie."

"What?" The Terra Save member enquired, obviously confused.

"She lied!" he exclaimed loudly, slamming down the bottle. The other patrons gave him some strange looks.

"Calm down, Jake." Leon warned, placing a hand on his shoulder. Jake shrugged it off.

"She's got some nerve..." The mercenary rambled heatedly, "How dare she! Looking at me, looking at me like I'm...but she's just as bad! No, she's _worse_!"

Claire shared a bewildered look with Leon, starting to get frustrated, "What on earth are you talking about?"

Jake seemingly ignored her, leaning back into his seat, eyes glazed, "I could hate her, I really could. She's still...she saved me, ya know? Or I thought she did. Maybe not. Maybe I can't be saved. But she...she smells like vanilla and snow..."

Claire sighed in irritation, "Leon, is this making any sense to you?"

The Agent didn't respond, as he had stood up and began to walk over to the bartender. Claire shook her head and turned back to Jake.

"Listen, Jake, we need to see her." she told him clearly and succinctly.

"She ain't goin' nowhere." he replied obnoxiously. He made to raise the bottle to his lips again, yet a splash of icy water harshly hit him in the face before he could. Jake gasped involuntarily, standing up.

"What the fuck was that for?!" he yelled as Leon set down the glass.

"To sober you up!" The Agent retorted, "_Listen _to us Jake. _Where is Sherry?_"

Before the Mercenary could respond the sound of yells and screams erupted from outside, combined with barks and howls. Claire stood also, drawing her handgun as Leon readied his. The civilians in the bar seemed unsure of what to do.

"Sounds like we have a problem." Leon noted hastily heading for the door. His partner followed, and Jake grabbed his shotgun from under the table.

The DSO Agent burst open the door, and paused at the sight before him.

"Oh no." he mumbled in shock. He could see the infected already outnumbered the townspeople, and with just one bite the T-virus was spreading rapidly to others.

Claire gasped in horror once she'd caught up to him, "Leon-"

"We have to help any survivors." he told her, before turning to the people inside the bar, "Stay in here and barricade the doors and windows. Try and grab a weapon if you can."

"What's goin' on, hero?" Jake asked, his shotgun resting in his hands.

"You ever fought Zombies before?" Leon asked. The mercenary shook his head.

"Aim for the head." The Agent advised, before raising his gun and heading outside. Claire covered him from behind with her back to his. Both of them began shooting down the horde efficiently.

'_They're a good team.' _Jake thought absently, before joining the fray. He only had a few bullets left, so he used melee attacks whenever he could. It was difficult to pin down the infected wolves and dogs with his fists though.

"Damn it, go down ya slippery fuckers." he said, managing to land a hit on a wolf with the butt of his shotgun, caving in the animal's skull.

Claire was disheartened to note that most of her huskies had been infected; only the more cautious members of the group remained, steering well clear of every other creature. She regretfully put one down as it lunged for her, before glancing at Jake to see how he was doing.

"Jake, behind you!" Claire exclaimed.

Heeding her warning, he instantly dodged the swing of a metal bar from a male Zombie by rolling forwards. A well aimed bullet from Claire broke open its head, and the Zombie fell.

"Thanks." he said. She smiled slightly.

Meanwhile, Leon countered an attempted grab from another Zombie, kicking it in the stomach before finishing it off with a sweep kick that cracked its skull.

The Agent turned around, ready to fight the next creature, and his eyes widened, "Shit."

The creatures didn't appear to have skin, just pink, raw flesh that sometimes gave way to expose their heart. Their teeth were long and dangerous, and their enhanced strength allowed them to pack one hell of a punch. In a horde like this one, they were practically unstoppable without some heavy duty weapons.

"Bloodshots!" Leon yelled, warning the others, "Back up!"

Claire did as she was told, but Jake raised his shotgun and fired at the nearest creature. It didn't react, just weaved to avoid the next shot as he pulled the trigger again.

"Jake!" Claire called, trying to provide some cover fire, but the creatures didn't halt in their advance.

The mercenary focused on his targets weak spot as the Bloodshot readied itself to pounce on him. He pulled the trigger once more; the gun clicked hollowly. Out of ammo. The Bloodshot pounced and Jake was defenceless.

Suddenly the creature was propelled back by an unseen force. It landed on the ground hard, and began to disintegrate. It was then Jake noticed an arrow protruding from its chest. He moved to back away from the rest of the Bloodshot hoard, when another arrow struck one of the creatures in the middle of the group. This arrow flashed red.

"Get down!" Leon shouted, and Jake threw himself back as the pipe bomb arrow exploded, blasting the entire hoard to smithereens.

Leon tried to ignore his accelerated heart rate and the warmth in the pit of his stomach as he stood, before looking around for her.

"Ada." he murmured once he spotted her, standing casually on the roof of a nearby building. She waved almost lazily, before jumping down and making her way towards them.

"What would you do without me, hm?" she asked, smiling slightly. He couldn't help but smile back. Claire watched the exchange suspiciously, a strange, uneasy feeling gnawing at her insides.

"Who the hell are you?" Jake broke in rudely. Ada turned to him.

"Ada Wong." she answered candidly, "Believe it or not I saved your skin back in China, and Sherry Birkin's too."

"Oh!" Claire exclaimed, "Sherry! We need to make sure she's okay. Jake, where is she?"

"About forty five minutes away from the town. This way." he told them, leading the way. Claire followed immediately, while Leon and Ada hung back.

"I won't ask what you're doing here." he stated softly, edging towards her.

"Good." she agreed, "I wouldn't want to have to lie to you."

Leon shook his head, attempting not to let his interest show, "Are you coming with us?"

"Sure, why not?" she replied. They shared another look before he turned away and began to trail Jake and Claire. Ada followed slowly, taking out her issued cell phone. Typing in a quick message, she hit send before tucking it away again.

* * *

Sherry started slightly at the knock on her door. It was very late, but she couldn't sleep. Conflicting thoughts about Jake flitted through her mind endlessly. Had he finally come back? After what she'd witnessed, she wasn't sure if she was ready to see him, or even if she wanted to.

And yet, a small swell of hope bubbled in her chest at the thought of him as she got out of bed, still clad in the clothes she had donned to go after him. Sherry took a deep breath to steady herself as she reached the door, before flinging it open.

Her heart stuttered at whom she saw, "Tobias."

He raised his head to look her in the eye, and smiled, "Good evening, Sherry. It's so good to see you again."

* * *

**There we go, another chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Any advice for improvement? Or words of encouragement maybe? It would be awfully nice of you. :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter Ten

**Hello again. No room for Chris and Jill in this chapter, but we'll catch up with them later. Thank you to anon reviewers, 'Emil Lime', 'Guest1', and 'jess'. **

* * *

**Red**

Sherry just stared. She had been so sure that she would never see this man again. Tobias was quite content to stare back for a few moments, before he spoke.

"Well, aren't you going to invite me in?"

She blinked, before stepping back. He took the gesture for assent and stepped into the cabin, closing the door behind him.

"I must commend you;" Tobias remarked, smiling with a strange sense of pride, "it took longer than expected to find you."

"Not long enough." Sherry muttered in reply.

He chuckled, "My dear, you knew it was inevitable. We are the Family."

"I'm not going to help you." she told him firmly, "I said no and I meant it."

He sighed, "I simply don't understand why not."

"Because you're insane!" she burst out, finally unleashing a torrent of emotion, "It's unnatural, and sick and wrong! Using B.O.W.'s to shape the world to your ideals, keeping a whole secret society underground, using people; _killing _people, to actually think in your twisted mind that you're doing the world some good...you're insane!"

Tobias remained silent through her tirade, though his eyes had hardened.

"I despise everything you stand for!" she continued, "You should be grateful I've kept quiet for so long-"

"Then why have you?" he interrupted sternly, "If you hate everything the Family stands for so much, then why haven't you spoken out?"

"You know perfectly well nothing I can do would stop you. I'd only be putting other people in danger."

"I don't think it's that." he contradicted, "I believe it's because you still hold some notion of loyalty to the Family. To _me._"

He had touched upon the subject they had both been avoiding, and she hated him all the more for it.

"Not anymore." Sherry replied vehemently.

He smiled bitterly, "I don't quite believe you."

She shrugged, uncaring, "That's fine."

They stared each other down, until eventually Tobias looked away uncomfortably, "Regardless, we still need you."

"You can go fuck yourself."

He raised an eyebrow disapprovingly, "What foul language. Perhaps you have been hanging around mercenaries for too long."

The Head of the Family noticed the defiance in her expression turn to regret, just slightly. He smirked cruelly, "Did something happen with Mr Muller? As far as I'm aware he wasn't killed by the mercenaries I sent. I expected him to be here, glued to your side."

Of course, he had sent those mercenaries after Jake; she'd expected as much. Sherry lowered her eyes, "It's none of your business."

Tobias scoffed, "You have a soft spot for him. How sordid."

She glared at him once more, and he filed away in his mind that Jake Muller was a sensitive subject for her. This could work to his advantage.

"Well, it seems as though he doesn't care for you very much at all, abandoning you like this. Perhaps your affections are misplaced."

Staying silent, she crossed her arms defensively.

He continued, stuffing his hands in his pockets and adopting a relaxed stance, "From his file I assumed he cared only for money. Did you pay him to come here and protect you?"

She frowned and shook her head, though there was an uncomfortable lump in her throat.

"Hm. Then what happened, baby?"

Her eyes snapped to his upon use of the moniker; no one had ever called her that but him, and it had been a while. She tried to ignore the fluttering feeling it brought back in the pit of her stomach.

"He discovered I was a member of the Family." she found herself confiding slowly.

His expression held volumes of sympathy as he stepped close to her, "So he left you."

Sherry nodded awkwardly, blinking back tears. Tobias raised his hand to grasp her chin between his thumb and finger gently, tilting her head up so she would meet his eyes. She'd almost forgotten how _blue _they were; certainly a deeper blue than Jake's...

The chiming of a phone broke the moment, and Tobias reached into his pocket to pull it out. She discreetly read the message he'd opened, though he made no attempts to hide it from her.

'_K, R, & M heading your way.'_

"Sherry, we must go." he told her, tapping in another message she didn't catch.

"I'm not going anywhere with you." she rebuked, backing away from him.

Tobias sighed in frustration, beginning to lose his patience, "I don't want to have to hurt you, but I will if you don't comply. J'avo under my command have surrounded this cabin."

Sherry balled her fists, preparing for a fight. He shook his head, seemingly amused at her consistent defiance.

"Alright, how about this; if you come with me, the Family will leave Muller alone." he offered, putting the phone away.

She narrowed her eyes, "You're lying."

"Do you honestly think I would do that to you? We have what we need from him. As long as he doesn't interfere on your behalf, then he doesn't need to be disposed of."

Sherry sighed sadly, though the resistance in her eyes remained, "He won't interfere. He doesn't want anything to do with me anymore."

"Well then, won't you come with me?"

* * *

"How did the T and C-Virus break out in the town?" Claire wondered out loud worriedly, "Those poor people..."

"I'm sure if we keep going, we're bound to find out." Leon replied certainly, "Though I think we all know it was the Family. What I wanna know is why." He glanced at Ada to gauge her expression, and as he predicted it was carefully blank. So she did know something, but wasn't telling.

Jake ignored their conversation; if he was honest with himself, he didn't care nearly as much for the townspeople as much as he cared for Sherry. Caring about other people's welfare was left to the likes of heroes, and he was far from that. Therefore he continued to trudge through the snow at a fast pace, "Will you guys hurry it up?"

"Sorry." The Terra Save member mumbled, and the others quickened their strides.

After a while, Jake could finally make out the cabin. His sharp senses also picked up the hostiles surrounding it.

"Looks like J'avo." he announced, glancing back, "You ever fought them before, hero?"

Leon shook his head, and Jake smirked.

"They regenerate, and mutate under physical trauma, so hit 'em hard."

With that he turned and dashed towards the cabin. The others readied their weapons and followed him.

There were not very many J'avo surrounding the cabin, and with the four of them it made the job much easier. A good few well placed bullets to the head here, a cobra strike and a finishing stomp to the skull there, and only a few remained.

Ada was helping to take down the J'avo blocking their way, though she wasn't too enthusiastic about it. She needed to buy as much time as possible, yet not arouse suspicion. Leon was watching her especially closely.

She back flipped gracefully while simultaneously releasing an arrow from her crossbow straight into the chest of a J'avo, causing it to fall flat on its back. As Claire finished it off, Ada risked a glance around the cabin to spot two figures heading swiftly towards the surrounding forest.

She had hoped it needn't have come to this, but she had to create a distraction. It would be useful to see what she was up against anyway. Casting a fleeting look at the others to ensure they were preoccupied, Ada quickly reached into the small pouch on her hip and withdrew a small syringe. Flicking off the safety cap with her thumb, she threw it at the nearest J'avo; the needle pierced the creature's neck. Almost instantly, it jerked and shuddered as it burst into flame and formed a chrysalis soon after.

Ada then loaded a pipe bomb arrow into her crossbow, and took aim at a J'avo with a mutated arm, firing with deadly accuracy. Jake and Leon were the closest and noticed the red flash, so they backed up as it exploded, sending a volley of red snow into the air.

By this time the chrysalis was almost finished hatching.

"What the hell is that?" Claire asked, staring at the emerging creature with a morbid interest.

The creature vaguely resembled a giant lizard; it had green, tough scales and a long tail. However, sharp, lethal looking spikes protruded from the end of the creatures tail, and from around its neck. It nimbly slithered from the cocoon, and they could see the steam rolling off its skin, melting the nearby snow. The monster stopped a few feet away and raised itself up on its hind legs.

"A Strelat!" Jake answered loudly, "It's weak to melee attacks!"

With that, he ran towards it, preparing to grab the creature. But Ada was the closest, and she could see the green scales on its side beginning to turn red. In addition, she could feel the heat it emitted even from where she was standing; any closer and she had no doubt it would burn her.

"Wait! Stop!" she commanded, raising her hand to Jake as she backed away from the creature.

He either didn't hear her, or chose not to listen, as he continued to sprint forward. Still raised up on its hind legs, the Strelat made a sucking sound as it seemingly pulled in air and puffed itself up, then with a high pitched scream, it opened the flaps on the sides of its neck and sent a flurry of razor-sharp spikes his way. Only these spikes were on fire.

Reacting quickly, Jake allowed his body to fall backwards, and slid through the snow as the spikes passed over him.

"Jesus Christ." The mercenary muttered, finally feeling the scorching temperature that was rolling off the creature's body. He scrambled up and retreated a few steps. Now he was closer, he could see its skin had almost completely changed colour from green to red, and the darker red patches were beginning to give way to the raw flesh underneath. It was slowly disintegrating.

"Don't go near it." he advised, moving back further.

"No, it's perfectly safe." Ada commented sarcastically, loading another arrow.

Leon fired a few shots in the mutated Strelat's direction, though it didn't seem to have much of an effect. The creature stalked nimbly towards Claire, who was also shooting at it while backing away. It stopped a few feet away from her, and she was surprised at the intensity of the blistering heat she could feel. The creature stood straight once more, puffing itself up.

"Claire!" Leon warned as she stood frozen, still firing off shots at the Strelat's head. Instead of opening the flaps at its sides, the creature opened its mouth wide.

Claire's eyes widened as she realized she'd messed up by underestimating it, but in the same second she had the wind knocked out of her as Leon barrelled into her side, taking them both down into the snow and out of harm's way.

He'd saved her from a terrible death; in the next second the Strelat let lose a stream of fire from its mouth, scorching away all the surrounding snow in the spot she had just been standing. Yet thankfully, the disintegration process was almost complete. Bits of bone were becoming visible, and it was clear the creature was in pain. It shrieked and thrashed as it fell down on its back.

They all watched as it began to mutate, or at least attempted to. Powerful looking legs sprung forth from where its tail had been, but wasted away rapidly. This was followed by strong arms with claws for hands which also degenerated before the creature could use them. It's screeching was abruptly cut off by a wet choking sound, and with one last shudder it fell still, before slowly deteriorating away completely.

No one moved for a moment, shocked into silence. Until Leon felt Claire's hand on his chest, and he looked down at her.

"Thanks." she murmured, still laying in the snow with him covering her body.

He smiled a little and got to his feet, grasping her hand to pull her up with him.

"Well, that was new." Jake commented, still staring at the spot where the creature had vanished.

Ada remained silent, though internally she was worried. That had only been a prototype she'd been given; she hated to imagine what the finished product would be like.

It was then Jake picked up the distant sound of a helicopter's rotors, slowly getting louder.

"Sherry!" he gasped. He'd almost forgotten. Turning, he sprinted towards the cabin as the chopper flew over them. The mercenary spared it a glance as the others followed him.

The door instantly gave way under his powerful kick and burst open.

"Sherry!" The mercenary called, looking around for her. She wasn't in the living room, so he jogged into the bedroom and searched there. Nothing.

Leon and Claire, and particularly Ada, knew she wasn't here. But they let Jake move through the main room to the adjoining stables, still searching.

In the back of his mind, he knew she wasn't here either, but he didn't want to face the reality that they were too late. In the stables, Lidiya seemed to be trying to comfort Viktor, who appeared uneasy at the abrupt departure of his owner.

Jake went outside to the horses exercise space, and noted two sets of footprints leading away from the cabin and into the forest. In the same direction the helicopter had come from. What was more interesting to him however, was that the footprints were clear cut, large ones next to smaller ones that he was almost certain belonged to Sherry; she hadn't struggled. He wasn't sure what to make of that.

Either way, he was going to find her.

* * *

**I quite enjoyed writing this chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it just as much. I chose a Strelat to be a prototype for the R.E.D. since it seemed to be the most fitting creature. In mercenaries mode, on the 'Mining the Depths' stage, the secret boss is a Strelat, and the characters say something about it being "hotter than the devils kitchen." So it correlates with my idea! :)**

**Anyways, please tell me your thoughts on this chapter.**

**Thanks for reading.**


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